VCOM Faculty Handbook

VCOM physician faculty may treat VCOM students or employees in the clinical setting as long as the student or employee is registered as a patient. Although the physician faculty member is employed by VCOM, any treatment performed in the clinical setting is not associated with VCOM but is associated with the clinical practice. When VCOM owns a clinical facility that houses a VCOM affiliated practice, students and employees should be aware that the facility is treated as any other facility leased by a clinical practice. As such, the clinical practice is not a part of VCOM as an academic institution and treatment is not covered by VCOM’s liability insurance. Health professionals providing health services to students, through a physician-patient relationship, must recuse him/herself from the academic assessment or promotion of the student receiving those services. Student Participation in Other Students’ Healthcare VCOM students may participate in rotations with healthcare providers or shadow healthcare providers that offer healthcare services to other VCOM students. VCOM students are not allowed to participate in any aspect of the healthcare of other VCOM students, including observation, regardless of whether the student patient gives consent or not. Additionally, VCOM students are not allowed to participate in any aspect of the healthcare of other VCOM students’ dependents unless consent has been attained. It is the responsibility of the attending physician assigned to provide or oversee a medical student’s care in any healthcare setting (inpatient, outpatient, acute care of ED) to ensure that another medical student is not assigned to be involved in that student’s care, not present during any phase of that student’s care, nor permitted to have access to that student’s medical record (i.e. not be involved in any aspect of the student’s healthcare). It is the responsibility of the student who is on rotation or shadowing in the clinical setting to notify the treating physician of the presence of a VCOM student patient (if identified) and to remove themselves from the room and from all aspects of their healthcare. In addition, it is the responsibility of the VCOM student patient to inform the VCOM student on rotation or VCOM student who is shadowing and the physician providing care of the presence of a VCOM rotating/shadowing student and to request that the student leave the room and not be involved in any aspect of their healthcare. As the VCOM clinical training sites may not identify the patient as a VCOM student, it is an expectation that students seeking healthcare services identify themselves as a VCOM student. Off-Campus Consultation or Academic Work When faculty members are invited to provide their expertise to outside institutions, they are encouraged to do so providing that such activities: 1. Are directly related to the professional interest, expertise, and improvement of the faculty or staff member. 2. Are in the best interest of the division and VCOM. 3. Do not constitute a conflict of interest. 4. Do not interfere with regular instructional duties of faculty/staff. 5. Are not funded or considered employment unless funding is designated to VCOM or unless such employment has been approved by the Campus Dean. The appropriate Campus Dean, after consultation with the employee, will determine if any financial services will remain the property of the individual or VCOM, depending upon time commitment and the freedom from VCOM duties to carry out such activities. When it is deemed that the faculty member will own such services, the individual faculty member must assume tax responsibility. In general, external funding for a full-time faculty member is awarded to VCOM. Faculty must submit totals of the aggregate time involved in consulting within their annual

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