Absences from Required Clerkships Policy

  • Last Modified: Jan 17, 2025
  • Sponsor(s):
  • Responsible Office(s): Council on Curriculum

Policy Statement

Objective: To create an absence policy that applies to all clerkships and ensures consistent processes from Clerkship Coordinators. The policy must allow flexibility for students to attend personal appointments, while not detracting significantly from clerkship learning outcomes or creating an overwhelming administrative burden for clerkship administration. Students requesting a planned absence from a clinical clerkship must make arrangements with the Clerkship Coordinator and Director two blocks prior to the clerkship start date whenever possible. Failure to meet this deadline may result in an unexcused absence from the clerkship.

Clerkship directors will develop and maintain expectations that provide meaningful clinical and didactic experiences for students. Particular attention should be given to scheduling, work intensity and work compression that impacts student well-being. Regular administrative time, testing schedules and orientation dates will be provided to students during Year 5 orientation. Clerkships will request planned absences from students in advance of the start of the clerkship and will make every attempt to accommodate the student’s request. It is the responsibility of the student to respond in a timely manner to these requests.

The Continuity Clinic Clerkship has a separate absence policy that is detailed in the clerkship syllabus.

Planned excused absences

Planned excused absences from a clerkship must be requested to the Clerkship Director and/or Clerkship Coordinator in writing two blocks prior to the start of the clerkship and will generally be allowed for the following reasons:

  1. Presenting at a professional conference or representing UMKC in an official capacity (it is recognized that this information may not be known in advance)
  2. Scheduled USMLE examination
  3. Significant event, such as a wedding or graduation
  4. Student Personal Holiday as approved by the Office of Student Affairs

Emergency excused absences

Emergency excused absences from a clerkship must be requested to the Clerkship Director and/or Clerkship Coordinator prior to the scheduled start of the day of absence and will generally be allowed for the following reasons:

  1. Hospitalization or illness of self (mental and physical illness)
  2. Unexpected circumstances such as car problems or motor vehicle accident
  3. Critical illness, hospitalization, or death of immediate family member (as defined by the UMKC Bereavement Policy to include parent, child, partner, partner’s parent, siblings, grandparent)

Students will be given the opportunity to attend medical, mental health and dental care appointments, including those scheduled during work hours. Students will not be charged an absence for these occurrences. Students should schedule appointments that are least disruptive to patient care and didactic experiences.

Students are expected to attend and participate in every session of a clinical clerkship to facilitate their development of the competencies in each core specialty. Students are allowed to miss two days per two block clerkship and one day per one block clerkship for a planned or emergency absence, averaged over the entire clerkship. This is in addition to scheduled days off.

Documentation may be required for any planned absence or clinic appointment. This requirement will be outlined in the syllabus. Emergency absences will not require documentation unless the student misses more than the allowed number of days off for the rotation.

In general, students may not have a planned absence on the days of the clerkship exam, clinical performance assessments and orientation. If an emergency absence occurs during these times, the clerkship may require documentation to substantiate the absence. This requirement will be outlined in the clerkship syllabus.

Prolonged absences

The school recognizes that circumstances may require a prolonged absence from a clerkship. A prolonged absence is defined as more than four days total in a two-block clerkship and two days total in a one-block clerkship. The days off do not have to be consecutive to qualify as a prolonged absence. The clerkship may require documentation to substantiate a prolonged absence. This requirement will be outlined in the syllabus. In this circumstance, the student must meet with the Clerkship Director to determine a plan to meet the clerkship objectives. This could include making up missed clinical experiences. It may be necessary for a student to withdraw from a clerkship (without assessment) and re-enroll in the clerkship later.

Year 6 students are given additional absence time to facilitate residency interviews. They may miss 5 days total from Emergency Medicine and 5 days per block of Docent Rotation. The clerkship may require documentation of the interview to substantiate the additional time away.

Missing clinical duties without an excused absence will result in the following consequences:

  1. First unexcused absence: The student’s overall grade will be reduced by 10% (of the total allowable points for the clerkship) and the student will be notified by the Clerkship Director
  2. Second unexcused absence: The student’s overall grade will be reduced by 25% (of the total allowable points for the clerkship) and the student will be notified by the Clerkship Director
  3. Third unexcused absence will result in failure of the clerkship

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Reason for Policy

The School recognizes the need for students to take time away from clinical responsibilities and also recognizes that a student’s participation in clinical training and their prioritization of patient care is essential for the student to meet the program’s learning objectives and for the development of competency in professionalism, communication and professional development.

Who Should Read this Policy?

Those in required clerkships, including Docent Rotation in Years 4, 5 and 6; Family Medicine Clerkship, General Surgery Clerkship, Obstetrics and Gynecology clerkship, Pediatrics Clerkship, Psychiatry Clerkship and Emergency Medicine Clerkship.

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