Guidelines

Guidelines

General Conduct

As a medical student you will be expected to act and work in a fashion that is consistent with the core values established by the Nassau University Medical Center. At all times, you are expected to act with integrity and respect, and to work collaboratively with others in scholarly pursuits, using the best clinical practices.

Attendance

You are expected to be present during your assigned rotation period. If a special circumstance or emergency necessitates that a student be absent and/or late from his or her clinical duties, the student must notify the Course Director and the Administrative Director. Attendance is required at morning report, medical rounds, lectures, and noon conferences. There will be no unexcused absences during your rotation. Any absence will be reported to the Dean.

Students’ Responsibilities

Students are required to:

  • Attend all lectures and rounds and present their patients (schedule will be provided by the appropriate department).
  • Pass the final examination.
  • Complete a course evaluation form.

On-call Responsibilities

Each department has its own policy regarding the on-call schedule. Please ask the Course Director and/or Chief Resident about the on-call schedule during your rotation.

Counseling

Common concerns experienced by students include anxiety regarding academic performance, depression, relationship issues, and medical education. Counseling services are available at the Medical Center and are provided in a variety of formats.

Dress Code [excerpt from Human Resources Policy HR -120]

Dress code for the rotation is short white coat over shirt and tie for men and short white coat over appropriate professional attire for women. Badges will be worn by all medical students above the waist at viewing level and with picture facing forward for all to see. This identification assists patients and families in identifying name and disciplines with whom they have contact.

It is not permissible for medical students to wear backless shoes or flip-flops or to go barefoot in the Medical Center. Socks or hosiery should be worn at all times. Nails should be clean and trimmed. Mustaches, long hair, and beards are to be well-trimmed, clean, and neat. Excessive use of perfume or cologne is discouraged. Excessive jewelry should not be worn. Uniforms are to be neat and clean and worn without undergarments hanging out.

Smoking [excerpt from Human Resources Policy EC-030]

Nassau University Medical Center is a smoke-free environment. Smoking is prohibited in all areas of the Medical Center and all buildings on the grounds of the Medical Center. Designated smoking areas have been labeled outside of the buildings. It is requested that all smokers use these areas and place butts in proper containers.

Attending and Resident Roles

Each faculty will involve the student as much as possible and encourage your active participation as a member of the treatment team. Much of the clinical teaching occurs during rounds. Students should be encouraged to practice their interviewing skills and present clinical data during rounds. Supervision by an upper-level resident or an attending is required for the meeting. Following rounds, students can expect to spend most of the workday with the intern and resident physicians and should be actively engaged in the day-to-day duties of patient care.

Attending or resident physicians may suggest readings or topics for exploration that supplement the recommended readings. Toward the end of the rotation, attending and resident physicians will provide a more comprehensive performance evaluation, which should be completed in a timely fashion. The evaluation will be forwarded to your school, and a copy will be kept in the Office of Undergraduate Medical Education.

Change of Important Information

Students are expected to notify the Undergraduate Medical Education Office when they move, legally change their names, or experience next-of-kin changes.

The Office of Undergraduate Medical Education uses e-mail to communicate with students. This is the preferred means to communicate official notices regarding important rotation information. Remember to check your e-mail daily so that you do not miss important announcements.

Log Book

You should list all patients for whom you have performed a complete H&P, including those seen in the ambulatory setting and on consultation. The log provides a means of monitoring the scope and diversity of your learning experience.

Periodically, you will be asked to submit your log to permit a review of your patient experience. If you find that you are not seeing a wide variety of patients, show your log to your attending and ask to be assigned different types of patients.

Information Access

When you read about your patient, you will likely find yourself challenged by the immense and growing literature relevant to providing high-quality care. You should become familiar with the key sources for obtaining updated information on issues relevant to the medical management of patients. We recommend that you obtain one of the standard textbooks in each discipline as your basic resource for reading about the patients whom you will evaluate.

The more abbreviated study guides and books can also be used for study materials. They are particularly useful in providing an overview of subject areas before lectures and when reviewing for exams. You may find it helpful as you scan your knowledge base to determine specific subject areas for more in-depth study. Finally, don’t forget to regularly scan some of the key journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Annals of Internal Medicine, Archives of Internal Medicine, Lancet, etc.

Attitudes

Students must demonstrate professional attitudes in their approach to the care of patients by:

  • Using a non-judgmental and patient-centered manner,
  • Showing concern for the patient and the patient’s family,
  • Assuming responsibility for the care of the patient in keeping with the student’s level of experience and training,
  • Improving clinical knowledge and skills through effective use of available learning resources and life-long, self-directed learning.

Evaluation and Grading

Our evaluation program provides a process for assessing medical students’ performance in all core competencies. These performance measures are outcome-based in accordance with Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) requirements. Students’ evaluations are completed following every clinical rotation and are available for review and discussion in every program. Grades are based on a student’s participation in rounds, clinics, lectures, and surgical cases. The professionalism and thoroughness of presentations and the clinical acumen displayed while in the program are also taken into account.

Evaluation Methods

The course director and the chief resident will assess each student’s performance using the appropriate evaluation form and school requirement. For more information about your evaluation, please visit your school webpage or the student catalogue.

Student Feedback

We invite and depend on student feedback to improve the rotation experience. In order to ensure reliable and valid feedback, we require that all students complete this form on the last day of the rotation. If a student has any particular questions or needs during the course of the rotation, the course director and Administrative Director are available to assist.

Confidentiality

Medical students must respect the confidential nature of all information that they have access to, including, but not limited to, patients’ personal health information provided to them orally, contained in the patient medical records, or maintained on the Medical Center’s electronic system. Students must comply with all relevant state and federal confidentiality laws, including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), to the extent applicable.

Anti-discrimination Policy

Nassau University Medical Center is committed to providing medical students and graduates with equal education opportunity without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, sex, sexual orientation, age or handicap.

Foreign Medical Students

In accordance with the proposed changes to Section 239(b) of the Public Health Law, scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2009, students applying for clinical clerkships in New York State must attest to having completed the required training related to Infection Controls. Students may schedule their participation in the mandated training by selecting a course site from the list of authorized providers.

UME SOE Eligibility Letter

Additionally, foreign medical students must provide NUMC with a copy of the Eligibility or Long-term Clerkship certificate application form.

Elective Rotation Policy

  1. At the present time, electives are available to medical students from our affiliated schools.
  2. The medical student must wear appropriate photo identification at all times and must abide by all policies, rules, regulations, and by-laws of Nassau University Medical Center and its affiliated hospitals.
  3. A faculty physician or designee (other faculty from the same program or a senior-level resident) or a member of NUMC must supervise the medical student in the presence of patient(s) at all times. No medical student may have unrestricted access to NUMC and its participating institutions.
  4. In the presence of a patient, the medical student must introduce him/herself to the patient as a medical student and must request the patient’s permission to be present during a clinical visit, procedure, or other patient service. If the patient declines to allow the student’s presence, the student must leave the area. Failure to comply with this requirement may be cause for immediate termination of the elective rotation.
  5. The medical student must not make patient chart entries (electronic or hard copy) or copy patient charts (paper or electronic).
  6. The medical student must complete an evaluation of the rotation upon its completion.
  7. If a visa holder, the medical student must comply with all terms of the visa during his/her elective rotation. Failure to do so may result in immediate termination of the elective rotation.
  8. NUMC may, at its sole discretion, terminate an elective rotation without recourse to due process or appeal process.
  9. Medical students will be evaluated at the end of the rotation. The evaluation will be in the student’s file to provide feedback to the student. Throughout the rotation, there will be clinical observation and feedback by the mentor as well as other faculty members.
  10. Students will also evaluate the preceptor at the end of the rotation. The Course Director will provide feedback to the preceptor.

Nassau University Medical Center
2201 Hempstead Turnpike
East Meadow, NY 11554
Office: 516-572-5399
Fax: 516-572-8718

Cancellation of Electives

If, for any reason, you must cancel an elective, you must inform the Undergraduate Medical Education Office, in writing, 45 days prior to the scheduled course.