VCOM College Catalog and Student Handbook

VCOM physician faculty may not provide medical treatment for students or employees while on campus or during outreach activities and should refer individuals seeking treatment to a physician in a clinical practice. Physician faculty who provide medical treatment on campus do so at their own risk and are subject to disciplinary action. There are certain special settings when VCOM physician faculty may provide medical treatment for a student or employee while on campus: a. When physician faculty provides treatment as a part of the curriculum, such as when treatment is demonstrated in the physical diagnosis and osteopathic manipulation laboratories or the simulation laboratories. b. When physician faculty provides an educational demonstration for a student organization. c. When physician faculty provides educational tutoring or review sessions for students that pertains to the curriculum. Emergency Medical Treatment by VCOM Physician Faculty VCOM physician faculty members are obligated to provide immediate medical assistance to any employee or student experiencing a medical emergency on campus, within the scope of their training and available resources; however, this does not constitute a full patient-doctor relationship and employees and students should still seek further care from their personal healthcare provider as soon as possible. An emergency medical condition is defined as "a condition manifesting itself by acute symptoms of sufficient severity (including severe pain) such that the absence of immediate medical attention could reasonably be expected to result in placing the individual's health [or the health of an unborn child] in serious jeopardy, serious impairment to bodily functions, or serious dysfunction of bodily organs." Following care provided in an emergency situation, physician faculty should report the incident to Human Resources where the incident and treatment will be documented. Physician faculty providing care must maintain employee or student privacy regarding any medical information obtained during emergency care. Off-Campus Treatment by VCOM Physician Faculty On occasion, medical students may receive treatment from a healthcare provider in a clinical setting who is a VCOM physician faculty member and who may also have a teaching and assessment role in the curriculum. 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. Physician faculty providing emergency care on-campus are covered under VCOM’s liability policy.

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