Recording Time at the Preceptorship Location
Attendance during clinical preceptorships is essential for the development and evaluation of student clinical skills. Absences for any reason other than illness must be approved in advance by the instructor or the Dean overseeing the preceptorship. Unexcused absences from clinical or classroom assignments will result in administrative action.
A clinical experience includes any scheduled time in a designated patient care area, as well as participation in post-conferences, interprofessional education activities, or alternative clinical or laboratory experiences.
AHS and Pre-DMS students are required to attend all assigned clinical experiences as scheduled. Strong work habits should be developed early and practiced consistently. Regular attendance enables students to gain the skills necessary for certification while reinforcing accountability to patients and future employers. Students demonstrate commitment to their education by being prepared, punctual, and available as scheduled.
Students are assigned a specific number of clinical hours each semester, as outlined in the AHS and Pre-DMS curriculum plan. All required clinical hours must be completed during the designated semester.
Recording Time at Preceptorships
For each assigned preceptorship day, students will record the date and time in which they arrive at their preceptorship and the time in which they end their preceptorship. All recorded dates/times will be approved by the clinical preceptor by signing their name to the document showing the date and start/end times. It is the expectation that when the student is signed into their clinical preceptorship, they are in the clinical area and ready for their clinical assignment. This means all personal tasks, grooming, restroom needs, etc., have been taken care of before they are to start their preceptorship assignment. NOTE: All students are required to take a picture or scan of their time sheet at the end of their preceptorship week, and submit this as fulfillment of weekly assignments in Canvas (our learning management system). Make sure that your preceptor has signed off on both your arrival and departure times for all assigned days before taking the picture/scan.
Absences
Students are expected to attend all preceptorships assignments. In the event an unavoidable absence occurs students are responsible for notifying their dean, their clinical coordinator, and their preceptor of their absence at least one week prior to the absence. They must reschedule their preceptorship session with their preceptor at a mutually available time.
- All student preceptorship absences must be made up and must be done prior to the last day of the semester. Failing to do so may result in the student receiving an incomplete grade up to failing the course.
- Students missing more than one preceptorship session will receive a general written warning regardless of whether the absences are made up or not. The warning is to ensure the student understands they are in jeopardy of failing the course if they miss one more preceptorship assignment.
NOTE: College holidays and breaks are not to be scheduled as preceptorship days; Students are not allowed to attend on these days. Also, see the Inclement Weather During Health Sciences Clinical Assignments Policy below.
If the preceptor cannot meet with the student at a scheduled preceptorship session, the preceptor is responsible for finding an alternate appropriate preceptor or rescheduling the session within the semester in which the preceptorship is assigned. The student is responsible for notifying their course instructor (clinical coordinator) and the dean of this situation and must keep them informed of any difficulties in getting the preceptorship assignment completed.
Students who do not complete the required preceptorship hours by the end of the semester will either fail the course or will be given an incomplete for that course and will follow the "Incomplete Grade" policy in the College-Wide Student Handbook. Please see more specific information about Scheduled Clinical Absences, Unscheduled Clinical Absences, Unauthorized Clinical Absences, and Late Arrivals and Early Departures Clinicals below
Scheduled Clinical Absence
Students should strive to schedule appointments outside of program hours. If it is unavoidable that the student make an appointment during a scheduled preceptorship assignment in the Program, the student must inform their preceptor and dean at least one week in advance of the scheduled absence. A student is allowed one scheduled absence from their preceptorship without penalty but they must ensure the missed time is rescheduled and content is made up within the semester that the course runs, otherwise they will receive an incomplete for the course (See Incomplete Grade Policy in the College-Wide Student Handbook.
Unscheduled Clinical Absence/Change of Schedule
Unscheduled Absences
An unscheduled absence is defined as an absence from an assigned clinical preceptorship without one week’s prior notification to the Dean, clinical coordinator/instructor, and the preceptor. Students should refrain from unscheduled absences whenever possible, as they are disruptive to the preceptor’s schedule. Preceptors and clinical sites volunteer their time to support student education; therefore, it is imperative that their time and effort are respected.
As with scheduled absences, students are permitted only one unscheduled absence per semester. Students may not have two scheduled absences or two unscheduled absences; each student is allowed one scheduled absence and one unscheduled absence per semester.
Students having more than one scheduled, and one unscheduled absence will be placed on Health Sciences Warning Status (see Warnings) regardless whether the time is made up.
Students are responsible for ensuring that all missed time is rescheduled and that required content is completed within the semester in which the course is offered. Failure to do so will result in an incomplete grade for the course (see the Incomplete Grade Policy in the College-Wide Student Handbook and the Health Sciences Warning Policy).
Each student is responsible for providing notification of a clinical absence. Notification must be made to the Dean, the instructor/clinical coordinator overseeing the preceptorship course, and the preceptor/clinical site as soon as the student is aware that they will be absent, and notification must be given prior to the start of their scheduled assignment. If possible, a 24-hour notice is preferred as last-minute changes could negatively impact the clinical site’s schedule
**Absences related to medical reasons will be considered with proper documentation from a medical provider.
Change of Schedule
In general, students are not allowed to change their clinical schedule once it is set. If a student finds they are no longer able to attend the approved set schedule, they must FIRST contact their clinical coordinator/instructor and their dean to explain the situation. All changes of schedule must first be approved by the dean. If the dean approves the change, the student must then contact their preceptor to arrange a new schedule if possible. There is no guarantee that the preceptorship site can accommodate a change in the schedule. If the change is not possible, the student should contact their clinical coordinator/instructor and dean. If an alternative preceptorship site is available the dean will work to place the student at the alternative site. If no site is available, the student will need to find a way to attend or they will need to drop the course. This should be the very last choice as preceptorships are usually offered once a year (see Enrolling in Clinical Preceptorship for the allowed gap in time between didactic/lab courses and enrolling in the preceptorship)
Unauthorized Clinical Absence
An unauthorized absence occurs when a student fails to provide required notification to the Dean, the instructor/clinical coordinator overseeing the preceptorship course, and the preceptor. Failure to do so will result in an unauthorized clinical absence.
An unauthorized absence will result in disciplinary action, up to and including failure of the course or dismissal from the program. Failure to attend a clinical assignment without appropriate notice disrupts the clinical site’s daily schedule and workforce planning and is considered unprofessional behavior.
Late Arrivals and Early Departures to/from Clinical
Students are expected to arrive and leave on time for all clinical experiences. If a student anticipates being more than five minutes late or leaving more than five minutes early for a clinical assignment, they must notify the Dean, the instructor/clinical coordinator overseeing the preceptorship, and the preceptor or clinical site prior to the scheduled start/departure time.
Students are required to accurately record their arrival and departure times in the clinical log within their clinical handbook. The clinical preceptor is responsible for verifying and signing off on all logged hours.
Students who are habitually late or are habitually leaving early—defined as arriving more than five minutes late and/or leaving more than five minutes early more than three days during the preceptorship experience—will be required to meet for a conference with the dean, will be placed on a Health Sciences Warning, and required to complete an action plan. Failure to meet the dean or to meet the requirements of the action plan will result in disciplinary action, up to and including failure of the course or dismissal from the program. See Health Sciences Warning Policy.