Keck School of Medicine Medical Student Supervision Policy  

Policy Statement

KSOM departments and central medical school administration ensure that medical students on required clinical experiences are appropriately supervised and that the learning environment is safe for both students and patients.

Policy Requirement

Students must have an identified faculty supervisor at all times. Students may be directly or indirectly supervised by faculty members and/or residents and, when indirectly supervised, direct supervision must be immediately available at all times by a faculty member or resident.

Definitions

1. Direct Supervision: The supervising physician is physically present with the student and patient.
2. Indirect Supervision with Direct Supervision Immediately Available: The supervising physician is physically within the hospital or other site of patient care, and is immediately available to provide direct supervision.
3. Indirect Supervision with Direct Supervision Available: The supervising physician is not physically present within the hospital or other site of patient care, but is immediately available by means of telephonic and/or electronic modalities, and is available to provide direct supervision.

Process

• Clerkship directors and Medical Student Educators (MSEs) determine and communicate the faculty and resident supervisory assignments on each required clinical activity and provide each medical student with the contact information of their supervisor(s).
• Faculty or resident supervisors must be immediately available to medical students in person or by cell phone or pager at all times.
• Clerkship directors and MSEs orient all resident and faculty supervisors at the start of each rotation to the expectations of medical student supervisors, the expectations of medical students, the goals and objectives of the clerkship, and medical student time requirements for clinical and educational activities.
• Clerkship directors and MSEs orient all students to the expectations of faculty and resident supervisors and how and when to contact supervisors

Appropriate supervision is monitored by the Medical Education Curriculum Committee through annual clerkship reviews.

Clinical and Procedure Supervision

1. Medical students may take patient histories and conduct physical exams as determined by their supervising faculty member or resident.
2. Medical students may record notes and enter data in the patient’s medical record as determined by the supervising faculty member or resident and affiliated institution’s policies
3. Medical student orders must be approved by a supervising faculty member or resident prior to implementation.
4. Medical students must have direct supervision or indirect supervision with direct supervision immediately available (as determined by the supervisory resident and/or attending and separate from appropriate chaperones) when conducting particularly sensitive elements of the physical exam, e.g., the breast, pelvic, rectal, and genital exams.
5. Medical students must have direct supervision when completing any procedure on a patient (indirect supervision with direct supervision immediately available as determined by the supervising resident and/or attending may be appropriate if performing a minor procedure, e.g., venipuncture or IV placement).
6. Medical student supervision must also be consistent with affiliate policies and procedures.

Reviewed and Approved: May 20, 2020

Medical Education Curriculum Committee (MECC)