Beginning in March, our research, academic and clinical operations underwent significant ramp-downs and transformations to ensure the safety and health of our community during the COVID-19 pandemic. While a portion of our workforce has continued to work onsite to fulfill essential functions, most underwent a rapid transition to remote teaching, learning and working.
While many team members will continue to operate remotely until June 30, 2021, others (primarily in research and the clinical learning environment) have already begun to resume onsite activities, or are preparing to ramp up in coming months, such as Educational Affairs. As each area ramps up (or down) onsite operations, ensuring the safety and well-being of our staff, faculty, trainees and community remains our number-one priority.
For this reason, compliance with our COVID-19 safety and operational policies and protocols remains critical to mitigating a resurgence, protecting our hospitals from exceeding capacity and progressing in our phased onsite re-entry plan. Thank you for your flexibility and collaboration, and for your continued commitment to our mission and each other.
The UCLA Office of the Chancellor announced on August 14 that UCLA will have no pandemic-related indefinite or temporary layoffs for career employees through at least January 15, 2021. Read the full message →
Per campus guidance, those of you who are currently successfully working from home should plan to continue to do so until June 30, 2021.
In response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, our Curricular Affairs team has worked tirelessly to design and execute a hybrid educational model that prioritizes safety while enabling essential in-person learning experiences.
Clinical ramp-up plans pertaining to residents and fellows are ongoing. We have developed surge plans, established PPE supply chains, confirmed PPE availability, defined personal and patient safety standards, worked to align practices with our affiliates, and transformed ambulatory care through the implementation of telehealth. We are now defining “the new normal” as clinical care ramps up and continuing to achieve educational goals while physical distancing.
The DGSOM is currently implementing Phase 2 of UCLA Vice Chancellor for Research Roger Wakimoto’s campus-wide guidelines for a phased approach to ramping up research operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. See our ramp-up FAQs page and the Research page for more information and resources. Review the complete guidelines document →
Highlights include:
If you are working on campus to perform essential functions or for any other reason.
You are required to monitor yourself for symptoms of the coronavirus and receive a clearance certificate before beginning work each day.
If you are at UCLA, fabric face coverings must be worn on campus (indoor and outdoor) whenever you are not in prolonged isolation.
All personnel are required to maintain at least six feet of distance from each other.
As part of the larger UCLA campus, which sits within an even larger UC and state-managed ecosystem, decisions regarding COVID-19 planning, policies and guidelines are made at differing (and often multiple) levels. This means that our medical school’s planning efforts are often contingent upon campus and UC guidelines, which the Dean’s Office interprets and communicates with you as soon as they are available.
For example, ramp-up plans pertaining to research activities are governed by the Office of UCLA Vice Chancellor for Research Roger Wakimoto and the IRB. Plans for ramping up educational affairs are under the oversight of the UCLA Future Planning Task Force, which Dean Kelsey Martin is a member of. Operational activities in the clinical arena are determined by leadership at the UCLA health system and at affiliate institutions. Resident and fellow involvement in the clinical learning environment is coordinated by the DGSOM Office of Graduate Medical Education.
To help clarify some of these decision-making processes, and where they reside, please see our COVID-19 policies page.
