The policies outlined in this handbook apply to all PA Program students, staff, principal faculty, and the program director. Students are expected to follow all policies of the university as delineated on the University of South Florida Student Catalog webpage and the guidelines set out in this handbook.
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Dress Code and Professional Demeanor
PA Program 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, 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 a short, waist length lab coat embroidered with an MCOM patch, their name, and the PA Program designation. ID badges during the clinical training years, and/or any time students have contact with patients, are to be worn prominently 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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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 MCOM, 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.
Absences
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 Student 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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In the event of an illness or emergency necessitating absence from the clinical rotation, students must notify both the PA Program clinical director and the clinical preceptor by 9:00 a.m. on the day of the absence. Students should also contact the PA Program office by e-mail or telephone (paprogram@health.usf.edu or 813-974-8926). Students should make every effort to reach the clinical preceptor and clinical director rather than utilizing voicemail or email.
Students are required to complete and submit the Student Absence Report Form with appropriate documentation supporting the reason for any unplanned absence(s). The completed Student Absence Report Form will be kept as part of the student’s record.
Failure to report an absence the student will be required to make up the time missed from the clerkship and a 5 point deduction on the clinical preceptor End-of-Rotation Clinical Performance Evaluation.
Students are required to submit a written request for approval of any anticipated absence, to the clinical director, prior to the absence. The clinical director will communicate with the student regarding details of the anticipated absence, preceptor notification and preceptor approval. Students should not seek approval from the preceptor without prior approval by the clinical director lest this be considered an unexcused absence.
- If a student misses up to five (5) days on any rotation, he/she must discuss with the preceptor ways to make-up the missed time. If there is no opportunity for the student to make up the missed days at that clinical site, the student must discuss make-up time at another clinical site with the clinical director. If there are no available clerkship site contiguous with the current cycle, the student will receive a grade of Incomplete until the hours have been made up.
In the event that a student misses more than five (5) days on any rotation for an excused absence, they will be required to repeat the rotation.
Students may be required by some clinical sites to engage in clinical or educational activities during the evenings and/or weekends.
If the preceptor or his/her designee is unavailable to work with the student for 2 or more scheduled clinical days (e.g. vacation, scheduled days off, etc.), the student is required to notify the clinical director so that an alternate assignment may be made.
Absence from a clinical site during a PA educational conference (e.g., AAPA, FAPA) for the purpose of conference attendance may be permitted with the permission of the clinical director. The student is still responsible for ensuring that any rotation benchmarks are not compromised by conference attendance.
Students are required to return to campus at the completion of each rotation for academic and professional activities that may include case presentations, End-of-Rotation Exams, OSCEs, and other designated program endeavors.
Tardiness
If a student arrives to the clinical site 30 minutes late or leaves the clinical site 30 minutes early, he/she is required to notify the clinical preceptor and the clinical director immediately.
If a student accumulates lateness hours totaling 5 hours this constitutes 1 unexcused absence. The procedure and policy for unexcused absences will then be applied.
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All USF MCOM subsidiaries are committed to providing a work environment free from unlawful discrimination and prohibit "unwelcome" or "unwanted" conduct which constitutes harassment. This policy strictly prohibits unlawful discrimination and harassment in the workplace based on medical condition, race, religion, color, national origin, disability, marital status, family status, age, sex, sexual orientation or any other basis protected by federal, state or local law or ordinance or regulation. USF MCOM affirms that all employees have a right to work in an environment free from any type of discrimination and prohibits any conduct which constitutes sexual harassment under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Unprofessional Behavior
Violations of the standards of conduct by faculty as enumerated in the Faculty Medical Learner Compact and in other University Policies shall be relayed to the Office of Faculty Affairs dean for action based on University Regulation USF10.112: Faculty Misconduct and Incompetence.
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All students are required to abide by the USF Academic Dishonesty and Disruption of Academic Process Guidelines that have been accepted by the university and are displayed in detail in the USF Student Handbook.
The University of South Florida expects students to be honest in all of their university coursework. Therefore, students are required to commit themselves to academic honesty by signing the following statement as part of the admissions process.
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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 the USF policy regarding consensual relationships.
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.
PA Program 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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