School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) Policy
Rationale/Purpose:
The School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) will provide supervision of Health Profession Students in all clinical areas to ensure quality education as well as patient and student safety.
Definitions:
Health Profession Program
Any of the SMPH Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Physical Therapy, Master of Genetic Counselor Studies, Master of Physician Assistant Studies, or Master of Public Health Programs.
Student
Any SMPH student in a Health Profession Program.
Supervisor
A faculty, resident, fellow, and/or Training Site employee designated to provide direct Student supervision in clinical settings, including inpatient, ambulatory, and telehealth.
Training Site
The separate entity hosting Students for clinical rotations pursuant to an affiliation agreement, such as health systems, hospitals, clinics, and care facilities.
Outside Setting
A setting where clinical activities occur that is not part of a Training Site’s owned and controlled facilities (e.g., ambulance/police ride-along, mental health crisis response, organ procurement/transport, in-home patient care).
Policy:
SMPH expects each Training Site, in collaboration with the appropriate Health Profession Program, to be responsible for ensuring Student and patient safety in the clinical experiences in which Students participate.
At each clinical experience orientation, Students must be informed of the expectations for their participation and supervision in patient care. Education leaders, as designated by the appropriate Health Profession Program, are responsible for informing Supervisors of these same expectations.
Education leaders, as designated by the appropriate Health Profession Program, are responsible for assigning Students to Supervisors for all clinical experiences and for ensuring that Supervisors and Students are made aware of these assignments.
Students must have access to appropriate safety equipment for all inpatient and ambulatory clinical settings. Students shall adhere to the most current safety practices, as determined by the Training Site and Health Profession Program and per state, county, and/or campus policies as well as current guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At a minimum, current UW-Madison safety guidelines must be followed. Supervisors are responsible for ensuring adherence to appropriate safety practices.
Students are to be provided with rapid, reliable systems for communicating with Supervisors, such as pager numbers.
The amount of supervision required for each Student will vary according to the clinical task and clinical status of each patient, and should be commensurate with the Student’s level of training, education, and clinical experience.
Supervision is designed to foster progressive responsibility. Whenever clinically appropriate, Supervisors should provide opportunities for Students to demonstrate increasing independence and responsibility for patient care.
With respect to students in the Doctor of Medicine program, where clinically and educationally appropriate, physician Supervisors may delegate responsibility for some elements of teaching and supervision to non-physician care providers (e.g., physician assistants, nurses, nurse midwives, etc.) within the institution. It will be the responsibility of each physician Supervisor to determine which learning experiences are appropriately delegated and to ensure the non-physicians providing such supervision are working within their scope of practice.
An affiliation agreement with language setting forth requirements for appropriate Student supervision shall be in place between UW SMPH and any Training Site before Students may participate in clinical experiences at that agency.
The Health Profession Program will ensure that all students review and sign the Health Professions Liability Coverage Form.
Student Safety in Outside Settings:
Students may participate in clinical learning activities in Outside Settings when the Health Profession Program has determined that participation will provide educational value and that additional risk is reasonable and acceptable.
Clinical learning activities in Outside Settings where an affiliation agreement is in place (e.g., UW Health Organ Procurement) must include alternative opportunities to fulfill required learning objectives.
Learning activities in Outside Settings where an affiliation agreement is not in place (e.g., ambulance ride-along) must be observation only with no direct patient contact. These activities must be supplementary to the course and not required to meet learning objectives.
The Health Profession Program will inform Students of the following:
The increased risk of participating in learning activities in Outside Settings;
That alternative opportunities to meet course learning objectives are available, when applicable; and
The observation-only requirement, when applicable.
Related UW–Madison Documents, Web Pages, or Other Resources:
