Student Conduct & Confidentiality

Student Conduct in the Clinical/Practicum Setting

As a student, you are a guest in the clinical/practicum facility and a representative of the University. You are expected to be respectful to preceptors, faculty, staff, patients, and their families. You are expected to dress professionally; you are expected to arrive prepared and promptly for all experiences in addition to being knowledgeable and complying with all policies and procedures at the site.

You are expected to adjust your personal and work schedules to accommodate participation in the required number of hours specified by the clinical/practicum course. If you are going to be late, you must notify the site immediately. If an unforeseen circumstance requires you to be absent from the site, notify the site immediately and send an email to your course instructor with notification of the absence. Upon return to the site, work with your preceptor to reschedule the missing hours as soon as possible. Vacations or personal time away from the experience, other than emergency situations, are discouraged.

The University’s Code of Student Conduct requires professionalism in clinical/practicum settings. Reports of unprofessional behavior will result in counseling by the faculty, Program Chair, and/or Assistant Dean of Students, and may result in failure of the course, or in egregious situations, dismissal from the university.

Unprofessional Behavior

Unprofessional behavior in the clinical/practicum setting includes, but is not limited to, the following:

1. Failure to comply with the policies and/or procedures of the facility.

2. Showing disrespect, impatience, superiority, or poor attitude with patients, faculty, preceptors, office or University staff, or being critical of another’s cultures, sexual orientation, social habits, or lifestyle.

3. Lack of sensitivity to patient confidentiality and privacy issues, discussing confidential information about the patient with others who are not involved in caring for the patient except for academic purposes and ensuring no HIPAA violations occur, or removing HIPAA protected patient information from a practice.

4. Submitting any written materials prepared by another and represented as your own is considered academic dishonesty and will result in possible course failure and dismissal from the program.

5. Failing to report unanticipated absences to the preceptor and faculty evaluator or failing to report for clinical/practicum assignment as directed or arranged.

   • Immediately notify the preceptor and course instructor of any unplanned changes during the clinical/practicum sessions or facility changes affecting the experience.

6. Inappropriate dress

   • You should be professionally dressed and wear the Purdue Global approved name tag and lab coat. It is also suggested that you model your preceptor’s attire. Professional dress is modest, neat, and clean. Makeup and jewelry should be kept to a minimum. Perfumes, scented lotions, and colognes are not to be worn as they can induce migraines and serious allergic/asthmatic attacks in sensitive individuals.