Teacher-Learner Expectations in UME

Thank You for Supporting our Medical Student's Educational Experiences!

Highlighted on this page are specific medical student policies and guidelines that the School of Medicine uses to guide its operations and that unite us in our mission to empower students to become physicians committed to excellence and leaders in innovation, research, health, education, advocacy and humanistic care. 

Our Commitment to the Highest Quality Learning Environment

As educators, UCLA Faculty abide by the values of professional conduct as described in UCLA’s Faculty Code of Conduct. DGSOM is committed to providing our trainees with the highest quality learning environment where there is mutual respect between medical students, residents, fellow, graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, faculty, and all members of the education community. The Medical Student Mistreatment Policy reflects this commitment and reinforces our pledge to zero tolerance for mistreatment of any kind, and of any form of retaliation against those who report. We expect faculty, residents, staff, and students to report incidents of potential mistreatment utilizing the Mistreatment Incident Reporting Form (MIRF). DGSOM’s Cultural North Star helps us build and maintain an inclusive, mission-driven culture by mapping our decisions, actions, and interactions to a shared framework. In addition to the important cultural frameworks that have been established, it is also important to highlight the facility requirements that contribute to the learning environment. Each campus and affiliated clinical site must provide adequate study space, lounge areas, personal lockers/other secure storage facilities. In addition, if students are required to participate in late night or overnight clinical learning experiences then they must have access to secure call rooms. Please ensure you are aware of these locations at your site.

The Pre-clerkship Student Workload Policy and Clinical Duty Hours Policy ensure medical students’ wellbeing and health, by providing reasonable work hours and a balanced workload in the pre-clerkship and clinical environments. Medical students are also expected to adhere to DGSOM’s Attendance Policies while engaged in educational experiences.

We seek to assure that our students can receive medical care as needed without concern of any conflict between the role of the physician treating them and faculty who are evaluating their performance. Faculty and students must notify the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, Associate Dean for Curriculum, or respective Course/Clerkship Director to request a new student/faculty assignment if faculty are asked to supervise/evaluate someone for whom they have provided clinical care, or have another family or personal/social relationship. This is outlined in the Duality of Interest Policy.

UCLA Police’s Emergency Procedures ensure a safe environment for our learners. In addition, our students have access to our DGSOM’s Emergency and Help Lines.

Medical Education Objectives, Requirements, and Technical Non-Academic Standards

Upon graduating, we expect DGSOM at UCLA medical students to demonstrate competence in several key areas, as outlined in our Program Objectives, Required Course Learning Objectives, and Required Clinical Experiences. As educators, we should all be familiar with these competencies and the overall graduation requirements.

The Technical Non-Academic Standards delineate the essential abilities and characteristics, which in conjunction with academic standards established by the faculty, are requirements for admission, promotion, and graduation with the MD degree. Any student with an existing disability, or who may develop a disability, who seeks an accommodation must notify the UCLA Center for Accessible Education (CAE) in writing and provide adequate documentation prior to the start of coursework and/or education activity in which an accommodation is required. 

Delivery of Exceptional Curriculum with Adequate Supervision and Assessment

We commit to ensuring that our students have meaningful patient care responsibility and are appropriately supervised, per our clinical supervision policy, when participating in required or elective clinical activities. As faculty we commit to ensuring that we submit timely assessments of student performance within MyCourses so that all students will receive their summative grade within six weeks of completing a course, in accordance with our Evaluation and Grading Policies.

We receive training on coaching and assessing students for their continued development, including ways to improve narrative feedback. Additional teaching resources can be found here and include helpful links for getting started and how-to guides for submitting assessments and evaluations.

Guaranteeing Transparent Operational Procedures

All education policies are reviewed and approved by the relevant faculty committee or Executive Vice Dean for Education. If you have any questions about the policies that guide medical education, please email CA@mednet.ucla.edu.

The DGSOM Diversity Statement ensures DGSOM meets its obligation to achieve mission-appropriate equity and diversity inclusion goals among its students, faculty, and senior administrative staff.

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 sets forth requirements ensuring transparent, confidential operations that protect the privacy of student education records. FERPA governs the release of these records maintained by an educational institution and access to these records.

All students have the opportunity to appeal any adverse decision related to advancement, graduation, or dismissal as outlined in the Academic/Professional Standing Procedures. Students who cancel registration, withdraw, or take a leave of absence may be eligible for a full or partial fee refund as indicated by the UCLA Registrar’s Office Refund Policy.