SCPE Attendance

Students are expected to be present and engaged in all learning opportunities while on supervised clinical practice experiences. As such, the program has developed standards and procedures for SCPE attendance.

If the preceptor is working, the student should also be working, including days, nights, weekends, holidays, and on-call periods. Students should work a minimum of 180 hours for a 6-week SCPE and strive to exceed this stated minimum.  Attendance at all end-of-rotation (EOR) sessions is mandatory.

Students will be allotted eight (8) personal days to use throughout the Clinical Year.  Personal days will encompass any need to take time off from a clinical rotation. Examples include but are not limited to medical appointments, illness, injury, and family or social obligations. 

• A maximum of two (2) personal days can be used during any single rotation.

• Personal days may not be used during the first week of the SCPE or on EOR days.

• A request to take a scheduled personal day(s) should be submitted to the Director of Clinical Education through CORE ELMS at least two (2) weeks in advance. In the event of an illness or emergency, a request should be made prior to the scheduled start time or as soon as feasible. 

• It is the responsibility of the student to notify their preceptor of any absence. 

• If an unforeseen event occurs that affects a student’s ability to adhere to the attendance policy, the student must submit a SCPE Exigent Circumstances Form. Examples of such events include but are not limited to, serious illness, injury, natural disasters, or the death of an immediate family member. The Clinical Committee will review the form and provide recommendations.

• Noncompliance with the SCPE attendance policy will result in the loss of professionalism points and possible referral to the PAC.

• Repeated noncompliance with the SCPE attendance policy will result in a referral to the PAC, which may include punitive action. 

If a student’s preceptor is on leave during their regularly scheduled hours, this is not an acceptable reason for the student to be absent from their rotation. The student should notify the Director of Clinical Education, who will work with their preceptor, to identify an appropriate collaborative clinical experience or an alternate learning activity. 

In the event of site closure due to an emergency or inclement weather, the student should notify the Director of Clinical Education immediately. The time off will not be counted against the student’s personal days. However, an alternate learning activity may be assigned.