VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

Medical Student Patient Care Supervision and Expectations for Performance in Patient Care VCOM is committed to providing quality patient care learning experiences for its students in an environment that fosters delivery of exceptional quality care while emphasizing both student and patient safety. The primary responsibility for patient care is vested with the appropriately credentialed and privileged clinical faculty attending or medical staff member and may not be delegated to a student. In addition, students are not to take the place of qualified staff. Medical students require supervision in every aspect of patient care. Therefore, medical students participating in patient care must be supervised at all times. The supervisor must either be physically present with the student or present in the same location as the learner and is able to provide direct instructions and feedback to the learner. It is understood that the supervising physician in the patient care environment at VCOM affiliated core rotation sites will be an attending faculty physician appointed and credentialed by VCOM, practicing within the scope of his/her discipline, who holds current medical licensure, and has had AOA or ABMS board certification/board eligibility in the specialty being taught at some time in their career. The supervising faculty physician at non-core rotation sites must also be an attending faculty physician, who is reviewed and approved by VCOM. During instances in which a medical student is participating in a clinical setting where resident/fellow physicians or other healthcare professionals are actively involved in medical student education, it is the responsibility of the supervising faculty physician to assure all personnel are appropriately prepared for their roles for teaching and supervision of medical students within the scope of their practices. Medical student supervision may be categorized as: • Direct supervision: The supervising faculty physician is physically present with the student in the performance of clinical care. • Indirect supervision with immediate availability: The supervising faculty physician is not physically present with the student in the performance of clinical care but is physically located in the facility where clinical care is performed and is available immediately if needed. The determination of the appropriate level of supervision of the medical student is the responsibility of the supervising faculty physician, and should be based on multiple factors, including but not limited to: • Students must always have direct supervision by a licensed healthcare provider who is qualified to independently perform the given procedure when performing any invasive procedures or sensitive examinations, including breast, pelvic, rectal, and genitourinary exams. Medical students are vital members of the healthcare team but are NOT licensed healthcare providers until they have graduated, completed residency, and are licensed and therefore, they cannot engage in the unsupervised practice of medicine. It is a violation of state law and a violation of VCOM policy for any unlicensed person to engage in or attempt to engage in the unlicensed practice of medicine. The regulated practice of medicine includes such unsupervised activities as independently making and providing a diagnosis to a patient, the rendering of medical care or advice, prescribing medications, performing procedures, and all other activities normally performed by physicians or other licensed professionals. Students on clinical clerkships or participating in patient care related activities may engage in patient care but must recognize that as students, their scope of training is limited. They are permitted to perform clinical care only in supervised settings and under the • The level of training of the student. • The clinical abilities of the student. • The acuity of the patient and the level of risk to the patient. • The complexity of the clinical case/procedure.

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