Policies & Procedures

The University of Florida Honor Code:

“We, the members of the University of Florida community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity by abiding by the Honor Code.”

Professional Behavior

• You should dress professionally at all times.
• You should be polite and respectful to your patients and colleagues at all times.
• Never falsify information. If you do not know, simply say “I don’t know.”
• Cutting and pasting anything other than online medication lists and lab data is fraud.
• You are expected to do your own work, regardless of what you may observe others do.
• All patient information is confidential and should be discussed only with those involved in the patient’s care. Do not talk about patients in public places, no matter how softly you think you speak.
• It is strictly forbidden to access any patient records outside of the hospital. Doing so will result in all students losing all computer privileges.
• You may not use USB ports to transfer patient information.
• If you need to work on a write-up at home, de-identify it and you may email it using ONLY your ufl.edu email account.
• Cell phones with cameras must have the camera disabled if they are to be taken in patient care areas.
• If you wish to take a picture of a patient for medical/educational reasons, discuss the proper procedure and consent form with your resident or Chief Resident.
• Unprofessional behavior will result in a lowered Professionalism competency score and potentially an unsatisfactory evaluation for the Sub-Internship.

Unplanned absences

• In the event of a single-day, unexpected absence due to illness, you MUST notify the Medicine Clerkship office preferably by email (Kathy.Pipkins@medicine.ufl.edu) but also by phone (352) 265-0230 as soon as physically possible.
• You must also make contact with both the Sub-internship Director and your resident.
• If the absence occurs while in Jacksonville on a clinical rotation, the Office of Educational Affairs (904-549-5128) in Jacksonville must also be notified
• Text, pages, email, and phone call are all acceptable forms of communication.
• If you are absent from the rotation and do not communicate with the office and cannot be reached, the office of Medical Education and Dr. Novak will be notified that we have been unable to contact you and a search for you will be initiated.

 Planned/Excused Absences

• Planned absences discussed in advance with Dr. Hood must be made up at the beginning or end of the rotation in order to ensure adequate clinical experience. This may require an extra call or weekend experience.
• Missed days which cannot be completed before Sub-internship end date result in an “Incomplete” grade.
• Failure to adhere to these policies and procedures will result in a lowered Professionalism competency score.

The official COM policy can be viewed here.

Reporting Problems

Problems with your resident, an attending, intern, or a general concern should be reported to Dr. Hood as soon as possible. The Sub-Internship should be a great experience and all concerns will be addressed appropriately.

Email is the predominant source of communication regarding updates in the clerkship. It is expected you will check your email daily. Email is also the primary means of communicating with us. Our department is committed to an excellent student experience and we believe good communication is the principle foundation to achieving this goal.