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The Importance of Attendance

Full engagement in mandatory activities, including attendance, is a core principle promoting the professional development of health care professions students and is in line with the expectations for students as they mature into fully-functioning, independent health care providers. Being present and engaged for faculty-led educational sessions a) positively impacts personal learning (i.e., one’s ability to learn from peers, faculty, and staff), b) strengthens team dynamics (e.g., group participation and interactions) and the learning environment for all, and c) fosters the development of sound work ethic and habits expected of physicians. In accordance with this philosophy, all students are expected to adhere to the following policies.

Professionalism Concerns

Students may be subject to changes in their academic standing by the Academic Performance Committee (APC) for disruptive or unprofessional behavior, repeated absences, or significant tardiness for course sessions.  Demonstration of exemplary or poor professionalism may also be reflected in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE), per recommendations by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC).

4a - Attendance Policy for Basecamp

For any absence, the Course Chair(s) or Course Coordinator will determine how missed coursework can be remediated to fulfill course requirements. 

Excused Absences 

For absences of an urgent nature, please contact the Course Director and Course Coordinator to let them know you will not be in attendance. Scenarios for which students will be excused for absence include the following: 

1. Illness affecting one’s ability to report to the scheduled session. 
   1. Please note that if a student is absent for three or more consecutive days, the student must submit a note from a clinician or the Clearance to Return to the Curriculum Form to the Student Affairs Office (dgsomsao@mednet.ucla.edu) attesting to the student’s ability to resume participation in the curriculum. 
2. Students seeking health care for which health care appointments cannot be rescheduled. 
3. Personal Emergency (for example, illness of a loved one or loss of a loved one) 
   Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to also notify their Society Dean for absences related to a personal emergency. 

Unexcused Absences 

Unexcused absence(s) during the course will be reviewed by the Course Chairs and may result in the submission of a Professionalism Concern Reporting Form.  If a student needs to miss a mandatory session for any reason, the student must contact the Course Director and Course Coordinator before the session begins. Failure to notify the Course Director and Curricular Affairs (ca@mednet.ucla.edu ) in advance of the missed session will likely result in an unexcused absence.  

Forgetting to sign-in to a mandatory session once will result in a warning. Forgetting to sign-in a second time, will result in an unexcused absence and will be reported the Course Director and may result in the submission of a Professionalism Concern Reporting Form.   

4b - Attendance During the Foundations of Medical Science (FoMS) Curriculum

The FoMS curriculum is focused on making the vast majority of in-person learning activities interactive. This means that old-fashioned lectures have been minimized in the curriculum. In addition, there will be a significant amount of “asynchronous content” for students to view on their own and at their own pace. This content (along with lectures) will give students the baseline knowledge to actively participate in the interactive in-class sessions.

Some sessions with optional attendance will be available via livestream which will enable students to view them off-site. Those sessions include:

• Lectures: There are a few exceptions each week where content was thought to be best conveyed via lecture, often because of the exceptional nature of specific lectures that have been given to previous classes. Lectures will also be available for podcast at least 24 hours after the session concludes. 
• Morning Report
• Connect the Dots
• Grand Finales (without live patients)

For all other sessions, attendance is expected. Faculty are preparing to have interactive discussions or perform hands-on activities with students during all of these sessions. Because of the interactive nature of these sessions, they will not be podcast. In the rare case that you need to miss one of these expected sessions for personal reasons, please complete the FOMS Absence Notification form at least 7 days prior to your absence. Failure to notify the Curricular Affairs Office at least 7 days prior to missing an expected session for any reason other than a medical need or personal emergency will result in an unexcused absence and a Professionalism Concern Report will be issued. Please see the Professionalism Policy for further details. Should a student miss a session with expected attendance, it is their responsibility to learn the content covered in that session. Faculty are not required to contact a student who has missed an expected attendance session, but makeup work may be assigned at the discretion of FoMS leadership. Attendance at expected attendance sessions will be tracked and reviewed by the Academic Performance Committee following each Pit Stop week. Please note that this requirement is different from situations where students need to unexpectedly miss a session due to illness or personal emergency as indicated below.

Excused Absences

For absences of an urgent nature, please contact the Course Chair(s) and Course Coordinator and the Curricular Affairs Office (CA@mednet.ucla.edu) before the session begins to let them know you will not be in attendance. Failure to notify the Curricular Affairs Office in advance of the missed session will likely result in an unexcused absence. Scenarios for which students will be excused for absence include the following:

1. Illness affecting one’s ability to report to the scheduled session.
   Please note that if a student is absent for three or more consecutive days, the student must submit a note from a clinician or the Clearance to Return to the Curriculum Form to the Student Affairs Office (dgsomsao@mednet.ucla.edu) attesting to the student’s ability to resume participation in the curriculum. 
2. Students seeking health care for which health care appointments cannot be rescheduled.
3. Personal Emergency (for example, illness of a loved one or loss of a loved one). Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to also notify their Society Dean for absences related to a personal emergency.

Special Considerations for Expected Attendance Sessions:

When missing an expected attendance session, students will need to take into account the effect of their absence on the function of their small groups and the ability of their educators to provide feedback on skills and provide both informal and formal assessment. For small group activities including those in Foundations of Practice (FoP) where students are assigned a role, it is the student’s responsibility to communicate with their group to reassign roles when missing a session with expected attendance. Given the nature of the Early Authentic Clinical Experience (EACE) visits that are missed must be made up during the two EACE makeup visits at the end of the first year. Please note that for clinical rotations there is less flexibility in attendance since your teams and your patients depend upon you to be present.

*This is a new pilot program for DGSOM attendance and is subject to change should absences affect the ability to deliver a year one curriculum that meets the stated objectives of the FoMS course.

Revised August 2021

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4c - Attendance during the HB&D Pre-Clerkship Curriculum 

For any absence, the Course Chair(s) or Course Coordinator will determine how missed coursework can be remediated to fulfill course requirements.

Excused Absences

For absences of an urgent nature, please contact the Course Chair and Course Coordinator to let them know you will not be in attendance. Scenarios for which students will be excused for absence include the following:

1. Illness affecting one’s ability to report to the scheduled session.

Please note that if a student is absent for three or more consecutive days, the student must submit a note from a clinician or the Clearance to Return to the Curriculum Form to the Student Affairs Office (dgsomsao@mednet.ucla.edu) attesting to the student’s ability to resume participation in the curriculum.

2. Students seeking health care for which health care appointments cannot be rescheduled.

3. Personal Emergency (for example, illness of a loved one or loss of a loved one)

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to also notify their Society Dean for absences related to a personal emergency.

Unexcused Absences

Unexcused absence(s) during the course will be reviewed by the Academic Performance Committee and may result in a failing grade for the student in the course.  A failing grade in a course results in the need for the course to be repeated. Since these courses are only offered once per academic year, this will result in a delay in graduation.

If a student needs to miss a mandatory session for any reason, the student must contact the Curricular Affairs Office (CA@mednet.ucla.edu) before the session begins. Failure to notify the Curricular Affairs Office in advance of the missed session will likely result in an unexcused absence.

Forgetting to sign-in to a mandatory session once will result in a warning. Forgetting to sign-in a second time, will result in an unexcused absence and a professionalism concern will be documented.

Personal Days

As medical students and future physicians, students are expected to attend mandatory class sessions. Mandatory sessions are noted on the Gryphon calendar. The Curricular Affairs Office does, however, recognize there may be occasional conflicts between a student’s professional and personal responsibilities. In order to allow for these circumstances, students may request up to four personal days per academic year, subject to the following limitations:

• They cannot occur on examination days.
• A maximum of two personal days may be taken per block.
• A maximum of two personal days may be taken during the academic year for each of the following session types:
  • Anatomy/Histopathology
  • Clinical Skills
  • Doctoring
  • Early Authentic Clinical Experience
  • Preceptorship
  • Problem-Based Learning
• Requesting to alter the schedule of any mandatory session during weeks with independent studies or otherwise will require a personal day request.

To request a personal day, please submit the HB&D Pre-Clerkship Absence Notification Form as early as possible, and absolutely no later than seven days prior to the first date of absence. Once the form has been submitted, the Curricular Affairs Office will respond within 1-3 business days to approve/deny your request. The decision to approve/deny is made by the Curricular Affairs Office staff and is based solely on meeting the criteria noted above. Students are responsible for completing remediation work assigned by faculty for sessions that are missed.   

Professional Development Days

All professional development activities (e.g., conferences, presentations) require pre-approval by a Society Dean. Permission for professional development days is not guaranteed and takes into consideration a student’s current academic standing and attendance record. DGSOM is committed to supporting professional endeavors and will allow students to request up to two professional development days per academic year, subject to the following limitations:

• Professional development days cannot occur on examination days.
• A maximum of one professional day may be taken during the academic year for each of the following session types:
  • Anatomy/Histopathology
  • Clinical Skills
  • Doctoring
  • Early Authentic Clinical Experience
  • Preceptorship
  • Problem-Based Learning

To request a professional development day, please submit the HB&D Pre-Clerkship Absence Notification Form as early as possible, and absolutely no later than seven days prior to the first date of absence. Following submission, the Society Dean will review your request, and once a decision has been made, the Curricular Affairs Office will contact the student within 1-3 business days. Students are responsible for completing remediation work assigned by faculty for sessions that are missed.   

Religious Observances

Faculty and staff are committed to supporting diversity at DGSOM.

To request a religious observance day, please submit the HB&D Pre-Clerkship Absence Notification Form as early as possible, and absolutely no later than seven days prior to the first date of absence. Once the form has been submitted, the Curricular Affairs Office will respond within 1-3 business days to approve your request.

Additional deadlines apply for students whose requested observance date falls on an exam day:

1. Should a religious observance fall on the day of a midterm, OSCE, anatomy examination or block examination, please notify the Curricular Affairs Office at CA@mednet.ucla.edu by 5:00pm on the first Friday of the block, so alternate testing arrangements can be made.
2. For students registered with the Center for Accessible Education, once notified of alternative testing dates, students are responsible for scheduling exams directly with the CAE Proctoring Center at least 14 days prior to the examination.

Final Exam Dates

Students should plan to remain available for curricular activities until 5:00pm on Wednesday of finals week, regardless of their designated exam times. Exceptions may apply if alternative exam dates have been pre-approved due to religious observances. 

Jury Duty

For information regarding Jury Duty, please navigate to the Registrar’s website here.

Vacation

All medical students in the pre-clerkship are excused from curricular responsibilities during Winter Break and Summer Break (See Academic Calendar at https://medschool.ucla.edu/current-student-calendars.

Revised July 2020

4d - Attendance Policy for Transition to Clerkships (Clinical Foundations), Foundations for Fourth Year, and Assessment for Internship

4e - Attendance and Absence Policies in the Core Clerkships

For any absence, the Course Chair(s) or Course Coordinator will determine how missed coursework can be remediated to fulfill course requirements.

Excused Absences

For issues of an urgent nature, please contact the Course Chair and Course Coordinator to request permission for an absence. Scenarios for which students will be excused for absence include the following:

1. Illness affecting one’s ability to report to the scheduled session.

Please note that if a student is absent for three or more consecutive days, the student must submit a note from a clinician or the Clearance to Return to the Curriculum Form to the Student Affairs Office (dgsomsao@mednet.ucla.edu) attesting to the student’s ability to resume participation in the curriculum.

2. Students seeking health care for which health care appointments cannot be rescheduled.

3. Personal Emergency (for example, illness of a loved one or loss of a loved one)

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to also notify their Society Dean for absences related to a personal emergency.

Unexcused Absences

Unexcused absence(s) during the clerkship may result in automatic failure requiring the student to repeat the clerkship rotation.

If a student needs to miss clerkship activities for any reason, the student must contact the clinical team, the Clerkship Chair, and the Coordinator before the session begins. Failure to notify these individuals in advance of the missed session will likely result in an unexcused absence.

Religious Observances

Faculty and staff are committed to supporting diversity at DGSOM.

The DGSOM at UCLA allows for the observance of religious holidays; however, students are required to make up missed time. Medical students are professionals with a responsibility for patient care that may require them to work on religious holidays. Students must request approval from the Clerkship Chair at least one month prior to the start of the clerkship. Attempts will be made to adjust the student’s schedule to allow for the use of a day off on the requested religious holiday.

The Clerkship Chair will notify the Site Director and Clerkship Coordinator of any approved absences. Should the requested number of religious holidays exceed the maximum days off for the clerkship (one day per week, averaged over the course of the clerkship), requests for time off for religious holidays and observances must be discussed with the Associate Dean of Student Affairs to ensure that clerkship requirements are fulfilled. 

Jury Duty

For information regarding Jury Duty, please navigate to our Registrar’s website here.

Days Off

According to the DGSOM Duty Hour Policy for the Clinical Years, students must be scheduled for a minimum of one day free of duty per week when averaged over the course of the clerkship or elective. Systems-based Health Care and Preceptorship days are not counted towards days off.

Schedule Requests

It is the student’s responsibility to contact the Clerkship Chair/Coordinator and Site Director/Coordinator at least one month in advance of the clerkship to request an adjustment to scheduled days off. 

University Holidays

All medical students on core clerkships are excused from clinical duties on Thursday and Friday of Thanksgiving week. Students are required to be present on all other holidays and holiday observations if the clinical service is operational.

Vacation

All medical students on core clerkships are excused from clinical responsibilities during Winter Break and Summer Break (See Academic Calendar at https://medschool.ucla.edu/current-student-calendars.

Revised July 2020

4f - Attendance Policy During 4th Year Electives

For any absence, the Course Chair(s) or Course Coordinator will determine how missed coursework can be remediated to fulfill course requirements.

Excused Absences

For absences of an urgent nature, please contact the Course Chair and Course Coordinator to let them know you will not be in attendance. Scenarios for which students will be excused for absence include the following:

1. Illness affecting one’s ability to report to the scheduled session.

Please not that if a student is absent for three or more consecutive days, the student must submit a note from a clinician or the Clearance to Return to the Curriculum Form to the Student Affairs Office (dgsomsao@mednet.ucla.edu) attesting to the student’s ability to resume participation in the curriculum.

2. Students seeking health care for which health care appointments cannot be rescheduled.

3. Personal Emergency (for example, illness of a loved one or loss of a loved one)

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to also notify their Society Dean for absences related to a personal emergency.

Unexcused Absences

An unexcused absence may result in automatic failure, requiring the student to repeat the course.

If a student needs to miss clinical time or mandatory course sessions for any reason, the student must contact the clinical team, the Course Chair, and the Coordinator as soon as possible. Failure to notify these individuals will likely result in an unexcused absence.

Religious Observances

Faculty and staff are committed to supporting diversity at DGSOM.

The DGSOM at UCLA allows for the observance of religious holidays; however, students are required to make up missed time. Medical students are professionals with a responsibility for patient care that may require them to work on religious holidays. Students must request approval from the Course Chair at least one month prior to the start of the elective. Attempts will be made to adjust the student’s schedule to allow for the use of a day off on the requested religious holiday.

The Course Chair will notify the coordinator and clinical team of any approved absences. Should the requested number of religious holidays exceed the maximum days off for the elective, then these requests must be discussed with the Associate Dean of Student Affairs to ensure that course requirements are fulfilled. 

Jury Duty

For information regarding Jury Duty, please navigate to our Registrar’s website here.

University Holidays

All medical students are excused from clinical duties on Thanksgiving Day.  Students are required to be present on all other holidays and holiday observances if the clinical service is operational.

For any absence, the Course Chair(s) will determine how missed time will be made up in order to fulfill course requirements.

1. For electives scheduled to fulfill the requirements for consecutive weeks of DGSOM Sub-Is (300-level, 400-level, and ICU electives):        If missed time during such electives cannot be made up before the elective concludes, then the elective will not count towards fulfilling the graduation requirements for consecutive weeks of DGSOM Sub-Is (300-level, 400-level, and ICU electives). The student may make arrangements (if permitted by the Course Chair, and schedule permitting) to complete the elective at a later date to earn elective credit towards the total number of weeks of elective training to meet graduation requirements, but not towards the 12 weeks of required consecutive 300-level, 400-level and ICU training. 
2. For electives not scheduled to fulfill the requirements for consecutive weeks of DGSOM Sub-Is (300-level, 400-level, and ICU electives).  If missed time during such electives cannot be made up before the elective concludes, if permitted by the Course Chair, and schedule permitting, the student may make arrangements to complete the elective at a later date to earn elective credit towards the total number of weeks of elective training to meet graduation requirements.

Days Off Policy for the MS-4 Year:

According to the David Geffen School of Medicine (DGSOM) Duty Hours Policy for the Clinical Years, students must have 1 day off per week, averaged over the course of the elective. 

For electives in which students have no duties scheduled on weekends:

1. The weekend days are considered the scheduled days off.
2. During these electives, students are not permitted to request additional days off between Monday and Friday, except for emergencies as described above.
3. In some cases, if the service does have clinical activities during the weekend, a student may request the approval of the Course Chair and supervising resident and attending to work on the weekend in place of an equivalent number of weekdays for certain events. However, these scheduling requests should be discussed with the Course Chair in advance of the start of the course.

For electives in which students have weekend duties:

1. Students will have 1 day off per week averaged over the rotation (e.g. 3 days off for a 3-week elective).
2. Students may request a change to their scheduled days off to accommodate residency interviews, but approval must be obtained from the course chair and supervising resident and attending (when applicable).

Policy for Scheduling Residency Interviews:

1. Interviews for Internship/Residency are not excused absences. 
2. Students may not request days off for interviews during scheduled elective rotations (except during research electives). 
3. Students may use scheduled days off for interview purposes. As noted above, students may request a change to their scheduled day(s) off to accommodate residency interviews but must obtain approval from the course chair and supervising resident and attending (when applicable).
4. As noted above, students may request approval from the Course Chair and supervising resident and attending for time off during the week for an interview if the rotation is one in which the student may be able to work on a weekend to make up the missed day(s).

Attendance Policy for ICU Requirement

1. For the student’s first ICU elective, the student must attend every scheduled day of the three-week rotation, except for the third Friday, which is reserved for assessment. If an observed University holiday falls on the third Friday, then the assessment will occur on Thursday. If the observed University holiday falls on Thursday, the assessment will occur earlier in the week.
2. Students may not reschedule or miss the end-of-rotation simulation assessment/written examination.
3. Students may only schedule interviews during their scheduled days off. Students may request a change to their scheduled days off to accommodate residency interviews, but approval must be obtained from the Course Chair, supervising resident and the attending (when applicable).

Revised July 2020