The policies outlined in this handbook apply to all students, staff, principal faculty, and the PA Program Director. PA students are expected to follow all policies of the university as delineated on the University of South Florida Student Catalog webpage. Students are also expected to follow the guidelines set out in this handbook.
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Dress Code and Professional Demeanor
PA students, at all levels of education and training, are expected to maintain a proper professional image in their behavior and personal appearance at all times. During the pre-clinical years, PA students are expected to wear clean, appropriate apparel (shirts, pants, dresses, skirts, etc.) and shoes to all academic functions and on the premises of USF (all campuses).
All students must wear short waist length with their name and MCOM Physician Assistant Program designation embroidered on their coat, and ID badges during the clinical training years, and/or any time students have contact with patients, or are in the patient care areas. Shorts are not to be worn at any time when there may be interaction with patients. Men should wear shirt and tie, and women should wear appropriate dresses or slacks and blouses, as well as closed toe shoes at times when there may be interaction with patients.
Business professional attire is required to be worn at all times. The following items are considered inappropriate:
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Didactic Courses - Year 1
Unplanned or Emergency absences for Personal Illness, Family Illness, etc.
The student must contact the Academic Director and course instructor by e-mail or telephone (see specific course syllabus) and the PA Program Office by e-mail or telephone (paprogram@health.usf.edu or 813-974-8926) to report his/her absenteeism on the first day of being absent. He/she should indicate if the reason is an emergency or unexpected illness. The student must also complete and submit the Student Absence Report Form . Specifics on planned and unplanned absences, as well as unexcused absences, are listed below. The completed Absence Report form will be kept as part of the student’s record.
If the student has an unanticipated unplanned absence on the day of an exam, he/she must contact PA Program Office by e-mail or telephone (paprogram@health.usf.edu or 813-974-8926) by 8:30 a.m. on the day of the exam. When the student returns to school he/she must fill out and sign the Student Absence Report Form . Documentation for the absence to be excused (e.g. physician’s note, accident report, etc.) will be at the discretion of the Program Director.
Students who miss an examination for any reason are required to contact the PA Program Office (974-8926) prior to returning to class to determine the date and time of the make-up examination. Dates and times of make-up examinations are determined by the Course Directors in consultation with the Academic Director.
In general, make-up examinations must be taken within 48 hours upon return from an unplanned absence. A second unexcused absence for a make-up exam will require referral to the Academic Performance and Professionalism Committee (APPC).
Planned Absence
Absence for attendance at a professional meeting or other educational or research related activity should be submitted via the Student Absence Report Form for approval to the Academic Director at least 3 weeks prior to the event. Each request for absence will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Personal travel plans should not be considered valid excuses for missing an exam.
To receive an excused planned absence for an exam, the student must submit a completed Student Absence Report from Exam Form to the Academic Director. The Academic Director or designee will make the final determination to grant or deny the request and will inform the student of the decision.
Supervised Clinical Patient Experiences - Year 2
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The University of South Florida System (USF System) is committed to mutual respect among all constituents of the University community. This commitment includes students, faculty, staff, and administration alike. In all concerns about fair treatment, we seek to work together to understand and address those concerns in an informal setting. As there are several offices designated to address Grievances throughout the University, with specific processes applicable to USF Health, students should first identify the topic or substance of a Grievance and file the Grievance with the appropriate office. The USF Student Grievance Policy can be found here.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
The faculty and director of each course/SCPE (for simplicity the term "course" will be inclusive of courses and SCPEs) define the criteria for acceptable academic performance in that course. Evaluation of academic performance may include (but is not necessarily limited to) measuring the student’s knowledge, measuring how the student applies such knowledge to specific problems, evaluating the judgment a student employs in solving problems and assessing the quality of the student’s psychomotor skills, professional conduct, ethical behavior and interpersonal relationships with medical colleagues, patients and patients’ families.
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- Achieve a passing grade of C or better in all Year 1 didactic course to be recommended for advancement to year 2.
Fulfill all requirements established by the faculty of each course within the academic year.
Achieve a passing grade of C or better in all courses and SCPEs.
Professionalism is one of the core competencies of a physician assistant considered equally important to the academic development of students and practicing PAs as medical knowledge, interpersonal skills, communication skills, patient care, practice- based learning/improvement and systems-based practice. A student who has failed to demonstrate an attitude of professionalism or is not prepared to assume patient care responsibilities based on faculty and/or APPC evaluations, may be dismissed from the USF MCOM PA program at any time prior to promotion or graduation.
PACKRAT Exam
Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT) will be taken during each year of the two year program. Students may be required to pay for the cost of the test at some future date without formal announcement. However, at the present time, the School covers the expense of the examination. The School of has received authorization to make an individual copy of each student's performance on the PACKRAT examination as a measure their clinical knowledge base during his/her training. This information may be used to make decisions affecting promotion, clinical rotations, graduation or remediation. The School will maintain the scores in the same confidential manner as with other academic performance information.
DIDACTIC YEAR
Didactic course grading follows this rubric.
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In the clinical year, student performance in SCPEs will be evaluated by the clinical preceptor for the competencies of medical knowledge, patient care, interpersonal communication, professionalism, practice-based learning and improvement and systems-based practice. Each rotation will also include a written examination. (Note: Students are not required to provide or solicit clinical sites or preceptors. The PA Program's Clinical Director must coordinate clinical sites and preceptors for program required and elective rotations. Students may make suggestions to principal faculty for sites and preceptors, but are not required to do so. Student suggested sites and preceptors will be reviewed, evaluated, and approved for educational suitability by the program.)
SCPE grading follows this rubric:
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In addition to being a violation of state and federal laws, behavior involving unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature is incompatible with faculty, staff, and student status in the University of South Florida - Master’s of Physician Assistant Studies Program.
Dating current teaching faculty (i.e. physicians, residents, teaching assistants, PA faculty, etc.) is highly discouraged. This can be viewed as a form of sexual harassment. See policy regarding consensual relationships: http://regulationspolicies.usf.edu/policies-and-procedures/pdfs/policy-1-022.pdf
Further information regarding sexual harassment policies is outlined in the USF “Sexual Harassment” policy 0-008, Diversity and Equal Opportunity: Sexual Harassment
Students should contact the PA program director immediately if they have felt as if they have been harassed.
The student is encouraged to directly contact the USF Center for Victim Advocacy & Violence Prevention with any concerns.
Sexual Battery
Sexual battery is a crime under the laws of the State of Florida and will not be tolerated at the USF MCOM as defined in USF Policy 0-014, Sexual Battery. As an integral part of academic performance, medical students are expected to maintain the high standards of professional and personal conduct traditionally associated with the practice of medicine. Any act such as sexual battery is a violation of University Policy, which in the case of PA students, is viewed as professional misconduct and is a violation of academic standards. As such, any professional misconduct is subject to disciplinary action by the APPC.
MCOM PA students who are victims of actual or threatened violence can obtain assistance from the /wiki/spaces/MCOM/pages/19396592255. Additionally, PA students should refer to the USF Policy concerning Sexual Battery.
Center for Victim Advocacy & Violence Prevention
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