Policy Number: CU.9.02.170808
Applies to: All medical students and MD curriculum faculty
Date: 6/20/2024
1.0 Policy Statement
It is the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine policy to prohibit any medical student from performing any healthcare service for which a license, certificate of registration, or other form of approval is required while concurrently receiving assessment, education, and training as a learner under the direction of a supervising College of Medicine faculty.
For those students who hold a license, certification, registration, or other healthcare credential and are thereby authorized to perform services, this policy is not intended to prohibit those students from doing so except when the student is in a clinical setting as a learner under supervision.
2.0 Definitions
Medical Student
A student currently enrolled in the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine as a candidate for an MD degree.
Faculty Supervisor
A practicing clinician with current licensure and necessary certification for their area of practice who has been appointed to the faculty of the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine and is tasked to supervise College of Medicine student(s) as a part of the curriculum in progression towards the MD degree.
Delegated Supervisor
A licensed practicing healthcare worker, resident physician, or other clinician with appropriate privileges and necessary certification for their area of practice who has been designated by a faculty supervisor from the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine.
Supervision
Direct Supervision
The faculty supervisor is physically present with the medical student and patient.
Indirect Supervision
With direct supervision immediately available – the faculty supervisor is physically within the hospital, clinic, or other site of patient care and is immediately available to provide direct supervision;
With direct supervision available – the faculty supervisor is not physically present within the hospital, clinic, or other site of patient care but is immediately available by means of telephone or other electronic modalities and can provide direct supervision.
3.0 Responsibility
Office of Educational Affairs
4.0 Procedures
All medical students engaged in any patient care activities must be supervised by a member of Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine faculty. It will be the responsibility of each faculty supervisor to determine which learning experiences may be appropriately delegated to other members of their healthcare team and to ensure that these members providing such supervision are working within their scope of practice. The details are outlined in clinical training affiliation agreements.
Designation of Faculty Supervisor Authority
When students are assigned to a regional clinical campus, supervisory relationships are established between faculty and students by the regional campus teams and continue until commencement. The Associate Dean for Clinical Education at each campus, with their clinical campus administrative team, is responsible for managing clinical training affiliation agreements and all other requirements for the adequacy and availability of supervision in the learning environment.
Training of Supervisors
The Office for Faculty Affairs and Continuing Professional Development, in collaboration with the Offices of Assessment and Curriculum, creates required faculty development materials for all faculty in preparation for their supervision activities. Materials include but are not limited to the specific requirements for supervision of all medical students to ensure student/individual and patient safety. Faculty supervisors are responsible to ensure appropriate training for all delegated supervisors. Clinical campus and departmental trainings supplement onboarding and orientation information for regional faculty as needed.
Reporting Concerns Regarding Supervision
All stakeholders (faculty, supervisors, patients and their families, residents, students, and staff) are encouraged to express any concerns about the adequacy and availability of supervision in the learning environment. Concerns may be communicated to the appropriate Associate Dean for Clinical Education (ADCE), the appropriate departmental Vice Chair, the Office of Student Experience, the Office of Curriculum, the Office of Assessment, the Chair of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, or via procedures appropriate to mistreatment. Concerns regarding supervision may also come through regular surveys from the Office of Evaluation, the Independent Student Analysis, and the General Student Survey.
Administrative Response to Concerns Regarding Supervision
The Chair of the Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences, departmental Vice Chairs, Associate Deans for Clinical Education, and/or the Associate Dean for Curriculum are responsible for addressing concerns related to the adequacy and availability of supervision in the learning environment. The appropriate Associate Dean for Clinical Education may remove the learner from the environment and investigate, along with the appropriate Vice Chair, how best to develop the faculty supervisor.
5.0 Related Polices
N/A
6.0 Key Search Words
Clinical supervision.
7.0 Revision History
Original Approval: 5/12/2016
Policy Number: CU.9.02.170808
Review/Revision: 8/8/2017, 04/24/2020