We have added a refrigerator to the UMKC Health Science Satellite Roo Pantry in the SOM.   We are now stocking dairy products, eggs, carrots, lettuce, guacamole, hummus, Greek yogurt and bread.   We have also restocked more granola bars, coffee, breakfast food and drinks.   Please do not use the refrigerator for opened containers.  The gallons of milk are to be taken home.   If you want a single serving of milk for your coffee or for cereal, please grab the single cartons in the back.  We also have a QR code in the pantry so you can request items that you want or need.
The pantry is for all UMKC health professions students and you do not need to apply to qualify. Your UMKC ID can get everyone in the building and the pantry never closes.  Take what you need, we will get more. 

UMKC has the following guidance for students considering external clinical elective opportunities during the 2021-22 academic year.

For students applying to a residency career for which UMKC or CMH does not sponsor a residency program (ENT, PM&R, Urology, Plastic Surgery, Dermatology, Radiation Oncology, Neurosurgery):

1. Students are allowed to schedule two external rotations in their clinical field of interest.

For students applying to a residency career for which UMKC or CMH does sponsor a residency program:

1. Students are allowed to schedule one external rotation in their clinical field of interest.
2. If a student desires a second external clinical rotation, the student must petition to the Curriculum Council for permission.

Schedule changes to accommodate an external clinical elective must be coordinated with the student’s ETC and the curriculum office.  As Docent Rotation with a student’s team is a foundational component of the UMKC education, it is optimal that the docent team remain intact.  Moving Docent Rotation will occur rarely, and general guidelines are these:

1. The change is necessary for the student to graduate on time.
2. Curriculum office requires it due to a unique student curriculum need.
3. The move is required for an administrative reason (leave of absence, delay in beginning clinical rotations).

All reasons for moving docent rotation must be reviewed and approved by the Curriculum Council, but approval for a reason other than the three listed is unlikely to occur.

If you have any questions or concerns about these policies, please contact Curriculum Office staff or your ETC.

Reference:

1. The Coalition for Physician Accountability’s Work Group on Away Rotations – FAQs (The Coalition for Physician Accountability’s Work Group on Away Rotations — FAQs | AAMC).

Question:

Can you briefly explain the clinical clerkship excused absence process?  If I have a doctor’s appointment, how do I get excused?  If I need to be absent for a mental health reason, how do I get excused?  What about a religious holiday? 

Answer:

The clinical clerkship excused absence form can be accessed here:  https://med.umkc.edu/docs/curriculum/ClkshpExcsdAbsence.pdf.   

The goal of this form is for students to be excused when needed for their health or safety.  Patient care depends upon the provider to be present, and that is why you each carefully consider being absent and its implications on your patients and colleagues.  In addition, medicine is an education that must be experienced and the medical school accreditation body stipulates the number of hours you must be engaged in patient care activities to appropriately learn.  (Of course the pandemic forced schools to adjust the requirements, but we have now returned to pre-pandemic expectations.)  Some educational experiences are unique and difficult to repeat, so being present is an important part of your education and why we ask for advance notice so that we can build a quality educational experience for each of you around your absences.  If you are unexpectedly absent, clerkship directors may require students to make-up clinical experience missed for any excused absence if missing that activity interferes significantly with achieving the learning goals of the clerkship.  There is a request to notify the clerkship director/coordinator at least 2 blocks in advance of your rotation for approval of an excused absence.  Of course if you have an acute illness or emergency, advance notice cannot be provided and we understand that. 

If you have a doctor’s appointment, we ask that you try to schedule it at a time that minimizes ​interruption of your learning and patient-care activities.  Please contact your clerkship director or coordinator to inquire about what times might be most convenient for a health care provider appointment, when possible.  Notify your clerkship coordinator/director with as much advance notice as possible.  If you are asked to produce a note from your health care provider but are uncomfortable doing so, you can provide it to Dr. Rogers or Dr. Chelladurai and we will confirm it to your clerkship coordinator. 

If you need a mental health day, you notify your clerkship coordinator/director of your need with as much advance notice as possible.  This falls under the form’s reason # 2:  illness of self or #7:  unexpected circumstances beyond the student’s control. 

If you have a religious holiday, you should request to use one of your two annual personal days.  Those must be requested at least a month in advance of the first day of the clinical rotation, and are requested using this form:  https://umkc.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3OGG4O6eMykzjPD.   If you are uncertain of the day, but know it will be within a range, explain that on the form.  You will be approved for the absence, and you can notify us closer to the actual day which one you will use.  Your clerkship coordinator will create a schedule that allows you flexibility so that being absent one of any of those days will not be disruptive to your education or patient care. 

Question:

Has there been any change regarding the 4 OOTs (away from clinic) that we are allowed in 6th year? I know that each student can only accept one rotation through VSAS, but I wanted to double check that the policy reagrding total # of OOTs per year hasn’t been changed. Thanks!

Answer:

Answer below comes from the Curriculum Office

The UMKC SOM is closely following the AAMC Coalition for Physician Accountability guidelines regarding medical student away rotations for the 2021-2022 academic year. Due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, students are limited to 1 out of town elective experience. However, the Council on Curriculum still recognizes per policy that Year 5 & 6 students are allowed 4 out of town, or “away from clinic”, blocks in each year. These out of town blocks can consist of any combination of the one out of town elective permitted by AAMC, vacation block, or clinical electives at local institutions that are petitioned to be considered out of town. To request that a local clinical elective be considered out of town so to not attend weekly continuing care clinic, students must provide sufficient evidence that the learning experience in that elective is significantly impacted by attending their regularly scheduled clinic day – i.e. a clinical surgery elective where your attending physician only performs surgeries on Tuesdays, which is the day of your clinic, meaning you will miss out on key learning opportunities. Our affiliate sites are aware of the educational importance of continuing care clinic and will regularly work with students to schedule learning activities around this required clerkship. In the instance that is not possible, then a petition to the Council on Curriculum is required. Requests for academic or research electives at local institutions to be considered out of town are not typically permitted but will be considered on a case-by-case situation.

Question:

How do the SOM and our clinical affiliate sites work together to develop and implement values and address issues related to diversity among its faculty and staff?  How do the SOM and clinical affiliates address student concerns related to unprofessional behavior they witness from peers, staff or faculty? 

Answer:

The SOM and our clinical affiliates all have core values that embrace diversity, engaging and learning from others different from ourselves, demonstrating kindness and compassion, exhibiting professional behavior and providing a welcoming learning environment.   The SOM seeks faculty, staff and student feedback to address concerns, has expanded the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and created the Office of Learning Environment.  The Diversity Council has representation from faculty, staff and students from the SOM and our clinical affiliates in order to enhance and promote collaboration. Several endeavors, including expansion of the Expect Respect workshops and the development of Project Expect Respect and Project PEAK websites are designed to educate as well as gather and share information to meet our values.  These educational workshops have been provided to faculty, fellows and residents, and student sessions will occur in the upcoming academic year.  An Anti-Racism and Cultural Bias Program has been created to be provided to faculty and students throughout the current curriculum.  The SOM administration works closely with the administrations of our clinical affiliates to address concerns and share information that aligns with our values. 

Individuals who struggle with the core values of the University, SOM or our clinical affiliates are provided education, individualized guidance, and counseling per the process outlined in our Teacher Learner policy.  It is important to share information about concerns that do not align with the core values or professional behavior expectations of our institutions, as identifying and sharing concerns is the first step in addressing concerns.  Any student, staff or faculty can report a concern here:  https://med.umkc.edu/mistreatment/. 

Join the Learning Communities Institute (LCI) on Tuesday, 6/29 at 5pm EST/4pm CST/2pm PST for an upcoming seminar entitled “Enhanced Stress Resilience Training: New Directions in Improving Mental Health, Stress, and Performance in Medical Trainees” facilitated by Dr. Carter Lebares (Director of USCF Center for Mindfulness in Surgery and Assistant Professor of Surgery, University of California San Francisco) and Dr. Curt Pfarr (College Mentor and Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center).

Dr. Lebares will present her amazing research on Enhanced Stress Resilience Training (ESRT), a method of introducing mindfulness and resilience strategies to improve the wellness of surgery residents at UCSF. She will delve into her findings, how she successfully implemented a pilot ESRT program at her institution, and how ESRT may be used to cultivate wellness in medical trainees at all levels of education. She will then lead a Q&A about ESRT. Following this, Dr. Pfarr will lead a discussion about a pilot program which will apply ESRT to medical students at LCI-affiliated institutions, as well as explore future directions of generating wellness in medical schools.

We will format this seminar to include brief presentations, followed by plenty of time for Q&A. Bring your questions (and turn your screen on) for a lively discussion about mindfulness, its impact on medical trainees, and how you may be able to bring some of these ideas back to your home institution!

To sign up, please click this link (https://forms.gle/PU2RX15dUssRoxuR6). Attendance is free, and we will be sending out the Zoom information closer to the event. For any questions, please reach out to either Charles or Troy (contact information below). We hope to see many of you there!

NOTICE OF THE ANNUAL BUDGET DEADLINE FOR COUNCIL ANNUAL AND STUDENT ORGANIZATION ANNUAL BUDGETS 2021-2022:

Annual Budget Information

• Councils may request a maximum of $15,000 in an annual budget submission.
• Student Organizations may request a maximum of $5,000 in an annual budget submission.
• Event-by-Event submissions will be opened after the completion of the annual budget process.
• Submissions that do not follow these guidelines will be denied.
• Councils that do not meet the May 14, 2021 deadline for SAFC/SGA representative appointments may not submit an Annual Budget.
• Please read the attached Student Activity Fee Committee Guidelines carefully before submitting an annual budget.
• Annual budgets should only be submitted if your organization is a registered student organization for 2021-2022.   More Information
• All communication regarding the status of your budget request is administered through RooGroups and updated in the comments section of your budget request.   Please be sure that you have turned on notifications from RooGroups to receive status updates.

Submitting a Budget Request:

• Log-in to https://roogroups.umkc.edu/
• Navigate to your student organization home page
• Click on Manage Organization (right-hand side)
• Click on Organization Menu  (left-hand side)
• Click on Finance
• Click on Create Request (right-hand side)
• Click on Budget Request
• Click on the Budget Process (Council Annual or Organization Annual)
• Begin creating your annual budget

*Budget requests are only accepted from student organization leaders.

*Faculty or staff advisors may not submit a budget request on behalf of a student organization.

NEED HELP?

Contact the UMKC SGA Comptroller, Kyle Potts at  umkcsgacomptroller@umkc.edu  or

Jeina Stoumbaugh at stoumbaughj@umkc.edu or 816-235-1084

Deadlines:

• Council Annual Budget Deadline is June 18, 2021 at 11:59 pm.
• Organization Annual Budget Deadline is June 18, 2021 at 11:59 pm.
• Event-By-Event budget requests will follow deadlines stated in the SAFC Dates and Deadlines Document.

In place of the weekly student Town Halls, Dr. Rogers and the administration will answer questions in writing for the foreseeable future.  Please send us your questions weekly, and we’ll respond!  (Feel free to contact Dr. Rogers individually for specific student-related questions.)

Question:
Can physicians see our Oasis evaluations of them before they submit our evaluations/grades?

Answer:
No.  Faculty complete their student evaluations/grades before they have access to student evaluations.

Question:
Are we still able to take mental health days during rotations/what is the policy on mental health days now?

Answer:
Yes.  Mental health days have been available for student use for the past 3 years and are included in the clerkship absence form as a reason for an excused absence.  Here is the link:  ClkshpExcsdAbsence.pdf (umkc.edu).  If you need a mental health day, notify your clerkship director/coordinator of your need for an absence due to an unexpected circumstance.

Students transitioning to Year 4 and 5 coursework and clerkships now have an additional option for guidance and advice.  A new group has been formed to offer help with academic questions regarding Step 1 and Step 2 as well as shelf exams.

The members of this group represent each of the color units at the School of Medicine.  Jason Egberuare (Green), Sam Monachino (Purple), Christy Nwankwo (Gold), Andrea Pelate (Blue) and Molly Pasque (Red).  Contact them via e-mail with your questions.

If you’d like further information or are interested in providing help yourself, contact Stan Viebrock.

In place of the weekly student Town Halls, Drs. Pirani and Rogers will answer questions in writing for the foreseeable future.  Please send us your questions weekly, and we’ll respond!  (Feel free to contact us individually for specific student-related questions.)

Question:

Could you please clarify the current masking/distancing policy at UMKC SOM versus Truman? And what is the expected timeline for this to evolve in the healthcare setting at Truman?

Answer:

This is confusing – thank you for asking for clarification! The University is following the CDC and local government guidelines for a non-healthcare setting. Hospitals, including Truman Medical Center, are not changing their current practices (per the CDC guidelines), and will not do so until additional CDC recommendations are shared. While in the hospital/clinic setting, continue to wear your mask, eye protection, additional PPE as indicated by your patient encounters and remain socially distanced.

The medical school sent out the following announcement earlier this month which explains the expectations in the school. If you are not vaccinated and wish to obtain the vaccine, you may do so at Truman (or any other site).

On May 16, 2021 the CDC issued new updated COVID-19 guidance, and the City of Kansas City rescinded their emergency order to be in alignment with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention decision to ease mask-wearing guidance for fully vaccinated people, stating that these people no longer need to wear masks outdoors in crowds or in most indoor settings, with some specialized exceptions. Fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.

For faculty, staff members and students within the UMKC School of Medicine some points to consider include:

• Anyone who is fully vaccinated can attend indoor and outdoor events without a mask or social distancing. Those who are more comfortable continuing to wear masks are free to do so.
• You are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after the second dose in a 2-dose vaccine series (e.g., Pfizer and Moderna vaccines) or 2 weeks after a single-dose vaccine (e.g., Johnson &Johnson’s Janssen vaccine).
• For individuals who have a medical condition or are taking medications that weaken your immune system, you may NOT be fully protected even if you are fully vaccinated. Therefore, you should continue to mask, but each person should check with their physician.
• Masks are required for all who are un-vaccinated or partially vaccinated.
• Masks are required at all hospitals, other healthcare settings and public transportation settings.
• People should continue to self-monitor for symptoms of COVID-19, even if fully vaccinated; if you develop symptoms, continue to mask and distance and get a COVID test.