Clinical Evaluations
Performance Evaluations - Evaluation forms for all clinical clerkships are given to the students prior to the start of the clerkships.
The student's level of performance in 9 Core Clinical Competencies is evaluated in comparison with other students at the same level of training. Grading is from 1 to 10 with 1 being substantial and 10 being outstanding.
It is rrequired that students discuss their performance with their attendings at the halfway point and again at the end of the clerkship. This will allow students the opportunity to discover any perceived weaknesses they might have as well as show students whether they are meeting their attendings? expectations for them for the clerkship. Finally, it will hopefully prevent any surprises for students when they review their evaluations.
Students are encouraged to first discuss any problems they are having on a clerkship with their attending. If the problem is not resolved they should discuss it with the Director of Medical Education of the institution where they are on clerkship. Finally if the problem is not resolved or is perceived by the student to be of a serious nature, the student should inform the Clinical Clerkship Director for that clerkship or the Director of Clinical Education.
Grading Policy for Clinical Clerkships - The final grade for Core Clinical Clerkships, in which an exit exam is offered, is determined according to the table below.
Exit Exam Grade
| |
|
Honors Pass |
Pass |
**Fail |
|
Clerkship Evaluation Grade |
Honors Pass |
Honors Pass |
High |
Incomplete |
| |
Pass |
High Pass |
Pass * |
Incomplete/Fail* |
| |
Fail |
Fail |
Fail |
Fail | |
*Grade to be determined after review of Exit Exam grade and Clinical Evaluation by Core Clerkship Director and Director of Undergraduate Clinical Education.
**Students must pass final exam before a grade for the clerkship will be issued.
All exit exams must be taken on the last Friday of the clerkship. If a student for whatever reason cannot take the exam on the assigned day, he/she must contact the Clerkship Director prior to the last Friday of the clerkship to obtain an excused absence. Failure to obtain an excused absence will result in an automatic failing grade for the exam.
Any student who fails a clerkship exit exam must retake the exam within 90 days from the notification letter from the Director of Clinical Education. Failure to retake the exam within 90 days of the end of a clerkship will result in an automatic failing grade for the clerkship. Students will receive an incomplete grade for a clerkship until they pass the exit exam.
Any student, irrespective of the reason, who fails to take an exit exam within 90 days of the end of a clerkship will receive a Failing Grade for the clerkship.
All other clinical clerkships whether assigned selective or elective will continue to be graded on a Fail/Pass/Honors Pass basis.
All grades are incomplete until student returns his/her Clinical Clerkship Evaluation Form to Clinical Education.
Questionable Evaluations - All clinical clerkships will be graded on a Fail/Pass/Honors Pass basis. Irrespective of the type of clerkship, any student receiving a questionable evaluation or one recommending a failure on his/her Clinical Evaluation Worksheet will be asked to meet with the Director of Clinical Education and with the chairman of the respective department or the Director of the Core Clinical Clerkship at PCOM. The Director will examine the situation and determine the grade the student should receive for the clerkship. Students should be aware that barring any information to the contrary, the attending will be given the benefit of the doubt when a question arises about a student's questionable evaluation.
Failures - An "F" will be recorded on the student's official transcript and the clerkship must be repeated during a period of the current clinical year. If the student has already taken his/her vacation, the make-up will be scheduled during the first available elective slot. The elective missed as a result of this rescheduling must also be made up within that clinical year or before graduation (which ever is sooner).
After satisfactory completion of the clerkship, a "P" will be added to the transcript. The final grade will be "R/P".
Nonattendance Evaluations - Any student who does not report to a clerkship without prior consent of the Director of Clinical Education will receive an automatic "F" and be immediately placed on academic probation. (Please see "Failures" above).
Any absence from a clerkship without prior approval will be regarded as an unexcused absence. In the event of an unexcused absence the student must provide a written explanation for the absence to the Office of Clinical Education. Time missed for unexcused absences may have to be made up. This will be at the discretion of the Director of Clinical Education in consultation with the student's attending and the DME of the institution where the student is serving his/her clerkship. Repeated unexcused absences during a single clerkship or a pattern of unexcused absences on subsequent clerkships will result in a grade of "F" for a clerkship.
Any student starting an elective clerkship without prior proper registration with the Office of Clinical Education will not receive credit for that elective and will be required to make it up at a future date.
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Group Representatives
Representatives are responsible for most of the communication between the Office of Clinical Education and the student body during the third and fourth years. Representatives attend two meetings a year with the Director of Clinical Education and the Clinical Program Directors to discuss the programs at our affiliated hospitals and ambulatory sites. Representatives are expected to contact the majority of their group members, if possible, for a clerkship summary. If it is not possible for the Group Representative to attend the meeting, he/she should appoint a member of the group to attend in his/her place.
Group Representatives who fail to meet their responsibilities may be asked to resign by either the Director of Clinical Education or their group members.
Students should notify their group representatives regarding any problems incurred during their clerkships.
Representatives are reimbursed for telephone and postage expenses incurred pertaining to college business.
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Holidays and Clerkship Hours
? While on hospital clerkships, PCOM students are to be on service a minimum of 40 hours and a maximum of 60 hours per week; that is twelve hours per day, five days per week.
? At the discretion of the Director of Medical Education, students may be required to be on-call during weekends or work nights.
?Total clerkship on service and on call time should not exceed 80 hours per week.
? The only official college holidays for juniors and seniors are Thanksgiving and a Winter Break. For scheduled holidays and time off, e.g., one day for National Boards, the clerkship director or the DME will be notified by the student, will not be required to work or make up the time missed. If the student wishes to work during the Winter Break however, of course he/she may do so.
? Students are not allowed take time off from rotations for personal days, mental health days, birthdays, anniversaries, etc., except during the Winter Break. In addition, the Office of Clinical Education does not authorize days off for other reasons such as internship interviews, conferences or religious holidays. All such days off must be negotiated and authorized by the attendings and Director of Medical Education where the student is doing his/her clerkship and reported to the Office of Clinical Education. These days off may have to be made up by the student in order to receive a grade for the clerkship. Repeated days off from a clerkship or a pattern of multiple days off on subsequent clerkships may result in a grade of "F" for a clerkship at the discretion of the Director of Clinical Education. No student who misses more than four (4) days on a four week clerkship or 2 days on a two week clerkship will receive credit for the clerkship unless and until the missed days are made-ip in a manner acceptable to the hospital's Osteopathic Director of Medical Education and the Director of Clinical Education.
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Letters of Recommendation
The Office of the Dean will provide a Medical Student Performance Evaluation (Dean's letter) to all students who are applying for post-graduate programs; however, the student's request must be in writing on "Medical Student Performance Evaluation" form (available on the PCOM website). Letters of Assessment are processed within a three week period in order of receipt.
When applying for internship and residency programs, your letters of recommendation from other physicians should be sent to Student Affairs.
Legal Limitations on Professional Practice
It is a violation of the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and contrary to the policy of this college for any unlicensed person to engage in or attempt to engage in the professional practice of health care. Please remember that, as a student, you are NOT a licensed health care provider and until you have graduated and you are licensed, you cannot engage in the practice of health care.
Professional practice in health care includes such activities as diagnosis, the rendering of medical treatment or advice, the prescribing of drugs and all other activities normally performed by physicians or other licensed professionals. Students are cautioned to confine their training activities involving the activities above the supervised teaching clinics, hospitals and training sites. At no time should you assume responsibility for the care of any patient because, as a student, you are unlicensed and this would be an unlawful activity.
NO STUDENT IS AUTHORIZED TO RECEIVE OR TO COLLECT FOR HIMSELF/HERSELF, OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON, ANY FEE OR GRATUITY FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICE.
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Malpractice Insurance
All students serving clinical clerkships are covered by the professional liability insurance of Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine during their junior and senior years.
Clerkship Scheduling
Assigned Clerkships - Students are given a schedule of assigned clerkships along with a list of participating affiliated hospitals. The schedule is arranged, whenever possible, to allow each of the clerkship groups equal exposure to all hospitals offered under the individual course requirements. All core clerkships are four consecutive weeks to be served at the same institution.
Students may switch an assigned clerkship with another student on an assigned clerkship of the same type, given in the same time frame. This change does not affect the number of student assignments at any given clerkship site. Sullivan County Medical Center, NorthCentral and the EastCentral AHECs sites must-fill first.
Assigned clerkships not completed as assigned will be recorded as a FAILURE and the student will be required to repeat the clerkship as a make-up to the satisfaction of the Director of Clinical Education as soon as practicable.
Make-ups are done during a vacation/elective period. Any elective time utilized for this purpose must be made up also (please see "Failures").
Elective/Selective Clerkships - Additional flexibility is provided by allowing students to interchange their vacations/electives/selectives. Again, this does not alter the number of students at our assigned sites.
Information received from hospitals and physicians around the country concerning available externships and internships are posted on the bulletin boards outside the Office of the Dean and kept on file for students? review during regular office hours.
When applying for externships, some hospitals will require a letter from the Director of Clinical Education stating that the student is in good standing and covered by the malpractice insurance of the College. Students must complete an Approval/Certification of Malpractice Request Form. Letters are sent within three days of receipt of the request.
Elective clerkships can be served at any location and in any subject matter of the student's choosing, as long as the supervisor is a physician. Students must arrange their own electives. Although it is preferred that students schedule their elective clerkships for four consecutive weeks, one elective may be split into two, two-week rotations in each clinical year. It is recommended that students do not complete more than one elective with the same physician or in the same specilaty.
Students are not allowed to serve electives in the PCOM owned clinics except during the Winter Break.
Military Clerkships - All students in the military may serve one (1) assigned core clerkship except the U-CHCC, R-CHCC, Advanced Clinical Skills or Cardiology per clinical year in the military. A copy of the military orders must be presented to the Director of Clinical Education for approval.
Selective Clerkships - Selectives are designated as such on the students? schedule and must be authorized by the Director of Clinical Education. The OMM/Family Medicine Selective must be scheduled for three consecutive weeks with an osteopathic family medicine physician. Ambulatory surgery students must arrange for their own selective clerkship as they would an elective.
It is extremely important that students register their elective/selective clerkships and clerkship changes on time. Students who are late in registering their clerkships will not be eligible to receive an Honors Pass grade for that clerkship.
Clerkship Registrations - Elective/Selective clerkships must be registered in the Office of Clinical Education no later than the Friday four weeks prior to the beginning of the clerkship period. This deadline also applies to the two-week clerkships. Registration forms should not be used for "setting up" clerkships. Students should receive approval from the appropriate department chairman, DME and/or physician's office before submitting a clerkship registration for approval by the Director of Clinical Education.
Clerkship Changes - Elective/Selective CHANGES must be submitted at least four weeks prior to the beginning of the clerkship period. Any changes received after the deadline date must be accompanied by official documentation certifying that the student has been canceled by the physician/hospital originally registered or that the student has notified the physician/hospital of his/her intent not to serve this elective and this is agreeable with the physician/hospital. Proof is required.
Lateness - It is extremely important that students register their elective/selective clerkships and clerkship changes on time. Students who are late in registering their clerkships will be apprised of these policies. Subsequently, they will not be eligible to receive an Honors Pass grade for that clerkship.
This policy is necessary because many hospitals around the country reserve elective slots for our students and may turn away several students from other schools only to find out, usually upon very short notice, that the student who signed up for the clerkship is not coming and a desirable clerkship slot is wasted. This is unfair to the hospital and more importantly, it is unfair to fellow students.
Unauthorized clerkships - No grade will be given for any clerkship completed by the student without authorization of the Director of Clinical Education.
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Clerkship Evaluations
Students are required to return the Clinical Clerkship Evaluation Form for all assigned clerkships in order to receive a grade for the clerkship. It is mandatory that Clinical Clerkship Evaluations be completed on all assigned clerkships. No grade will be assigned for a clerkship until the evaluation is returned to Clinical Education. Thus, failure to complete the evaluations may delay your graduation or put your acceptance into an internship or residency program in jeopardy. The evaluation form is available to be filled out and submitted online at the Clinical Education section of the PCOM Web site "Clinical Education Evaluation Form."
Student Files
After evaluation grades are recorded on the student's transcript, they are retained in individual files in the Office of Clinical Education. These files are available for your review during regular office hours: 8am to 5pm.
Student files are CONFIDENTIAL and will not be copied by office personnel and/or sent to another party for externship/internship applications. However, students are allowed to copy their own evaluations.
No one other than the student has access to files unless permission is given by that student in writing.
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