Addendum - This policy has been revised effective August 15, 2024.
The purpose of this policy is to create clear standards regarding student supervision during the student's participation in co-curricular clinical experiences during their enrollment at CHSU-COM as well as the Clinical Clerkship Program at COM. Clinical supervision of medical students is fundamental to safeguarding standards, professional expertise, and the delivery of quality patient care. These standards will enable students to develop knowledge and competence, assume supervised responsibility and enhance patient safety in complex situations as well as to ensure osteopathic medical student safety.
CHSU-COM requires clinical supervision of osteopathic medical students as an integral part of patient care and will ensure that appropriate and experienced practitioners are selected for this role. The supervising physician is ultimately responsible for ensuring medical student and patient safety during the student's clinical experiences. Medical students are unlicensed, and as a result licensed supervising physicians must be engaged in all aspects of patient care including but not limited to: oversight of patient histories and physicals, ordering lab tests and any form of imaging, prescribing, or during the performance of diagnostic and/or therapeutic procedures.
DEFINITIONS
Providing healthcare: obtaining facts through history-taking, measurement of vitals signs, examining patients during physical exam or ultrasonic methods, performing diagnostic screenings, including point of care lab testing, providing therapeutic treatments, documenting and storing a medical record, and/or other tasks regularly performed by a licensed health care professional.
Co-Curricular Experiences: Student Organizations or individual student volunteers may from time to time wish to participate in extracurricular settings such as health screenings, health fairs, and other community events. In order for CHSU students to participate in these co-curricular activities, whether through volunteer activities or formal club sponsored events, a signed affiliation agreement with a licensed health care entity and/or licensed health care professional must be in place.
Affiliation Agreement: The affiliation agreement is a document that details the responsibilities of the CHSU and the participating clinical site providing care. The document also identifies a credentialed/licensed health care professional and assures that entity has the required professional liability insurance.
If a CHSU-COM faculty is also contracted (e.g., employed by or has a signed volunteer agreement) with that affiliated licensed healthcare entity, that entity must be the one providing the healthcare, assuring medical records and assuring the physician has professional liability coverage.
CHSU-COM Faculty
A CHSU faculty member is employed, full time, part time or adjunct, for academic work performed on the campus. While a faculty member may independently provide care to the community, they do not provide healthcare on behalf of CHSU.
COMMUNITY CLINICAL EDUCATION
The Office of Community Clinical Education of CHSU will identify, verify and document the qualifications of each supervising clinical preceptor faculty. CHSU-COM and each participating affiliated site will identify the personnel involved in the clerkship teaching programs, including administrative personnel. Scheduling and coordination of clerkship assignments will be through the Office of the Assistant/Associate Dean of Community Clinical Education.
Delivery of clerkship content, structure, and evaluation will be the responsibility of the supervising clinical preceptor faculty approved by CHSU-COM. The following are requirements for student clerkships:
- Each clinical rotation will have an identified preceptor of record who acts as the responsible physician for the clerkship. Students will comply with all requirements related to patient care as established by the host institution and/or preceptor.
- A licensed health care professional must supervise students at all times.
- Students shall assume responsibility for and perform their assigned duties in accordance with CHSU and the training institution’s regulations.
- Students shall not be permitted to accept financial compensation or any form of gratuity for any part of their participation in the clerkships.
- Through their supervising preceptor, students may be assigned to specific patients. Emphasis will be placed on obtaining a history and physical examination (H&P), and palpation and structural components will play an integral part of the history and physical examination.
- Any student documentation in the medical record must be reviewed and signed by the supervising clinical preceptor faculty.
- Students shall not order any examinations, tests, medications, or procedures. Students shall not write prescriptions for medication, devices, or anything requiring the authority of a licensed physician.
- Attendance by students is required at all conferences, discussions or study sessions, and any other programs of an educational nature designed specifically for students at the affiliated institution. Students should document their attendance at such events. In addition, students are encouraged to attend lectures for other trainees, provided these do not interfere with the clinical clerk's own program.
- Students shall be required to participate in the utilization of osteopathic manipulative treatment when ordered and supervised by the clinical preceptor faculty.
- Students shall learn and perform procedures under appropriate and proper supervision, in those areas where the training institution regulations permit such instruction.