Absences, standing appointments Information
Absences, standing appointments
Students should notify their clerkship directors and psmcy@cumc.columbia.edu about any absences or scheduling issues, including scheduling needs related to standing health-related appointments.
· Accommodations policy: While working in clinical settings, it can be challenging to balance self-care with professional duties. To help maintain their self-care, students who need accommodations to attend medical appointments should notify the Office of Education at psmcy@cumc.columbia.edu. Students do not need to disclose their specific medical needs. The Office of Education will provide a list of students needing accommodations to clerkship and elective directors without reference to students’ specific medical needs. Students are also asked to alert clerkship and elective directors of their accommodation at least four weeks prior to the start of the clerkship or elective.
· Shelf exam study time: Students are given ½ day off from clerkship duties* during the week of the clerkship shelf examination to study. This day/time will be determined by the clerkship director.
*Please note that in the Neurology clerkship, the ½ day shelf exam study time will be during the afternoon of the OSCE.
· Wellness day: Students are given ½ day for wellness activities during each core clerkship. This wellness day may not be taken during the last four days of clerkship nor may it be combined with any approved absences. The student's wellness day must be approved in advance by the clerkship director.
· Absences: If students miss 20% or more of a clerkship (e.g., five or more days for five-week clerkships, one or more days for one-week clerkships), they will receive a grade of incomplete for the clerkship and be required to make up the missed time and possibly the entire clerkship.
The VP&S attendance and absence policy is located on the VP&S website: