COVID-19 Updates
Student Guidance (12/4/2020)
Get the latest updates, information, and Frequently Asked Questions from Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education.
Highlights
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UC Office of the President Proposal for Revised Vaccination Policy for Fall 2021: The University of California is proposing a revised COVID-19 vaccination policy to begin in Fall 2021. The proposed policy would replace the interim policy and require all faculty, staff, trainees and students who access campus facilities at any UC location to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and would allow for individual exemptions (details will be forthcoming).
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COVID 19 Student Vaccination Update: Visit the COVID 19 Vaccine Hub for ongoing updates.
- Asymptomatic COVID Testing for UCSF Students, Faculty and Staff Now Available: More Information.
- Foundations 1 (pre-clerkship students) Continues Hybrid In-person/Virtual Instruction through Spring: More Information
- UCSF Residents and Fellows - COVID-19 Care: Residents and fellows are expected to be part of the planning and care of COVID-19 patients/suspected patients in the context of their specialty programs.
ACGME guidance
- Universal Surgical Mask Policy: All Students, Trainees, Faculty and Staff Required to Wear Surgical Masks When Entering Any UCSF Health Clinical Care Building
UCSF HEALTH universal Surgical Mask Policy
- Daily Health Screening: All UCSF Personnel, Including Students, Must Complete In-Person or Online Screener Before Entering UCSF Hospitals. Text "Screen" to: 83973
UCSF Health Mandatory Daily screening policy
- Required Form for External COVID-19 Volunteer and Work Activities: All students involved in COVID-19 external volunteer efforts, elective or paid activities that increase your risk of contracting COVID-19, must sign this form and return to Lee Jones.
Where can students send additional questions? MedEdDeans@ucsf.edu
Updates by School of Medicine Phase
Please note that all information is accurate as of the dates noted below. For the latest, up-to-date information, please visit the UCSF COVID-19 website.
Graduate Medical Education
OcCUpational Health/PPE & Infection Control Update (10/2/2020)
UCSF Residents and Fellows - COVID-19 Care
Residents and fellows are expected to be part of the planning and care of COVID-19 patients/suspected patients in the context of their specialty programs.
ACGME GUIDANCE
Life Continuity Resources for Individuals and Families
UCSF GME Resources on Xenophobia, Hate Speech and Bias During the COVID-19 Pandemic ACGME COVID-19 FAQs
UCSF GME Responds to Zoom Bombing
COVID-19 Medical Education Principles, Code of Conduct and Guidance
COVID-19 Medical Education Principles
- Our top priority is the safety of all, including patients, students, faculty, staff
- We are committed to ensuring that all students have the clinical experiences needed to continue to make progress toward curricular milestones and graduation
- We are reintroducing students to our limited clinical sites in a staged, prioritized way, starting with more advanced learners first
- In many instances, clinical experiences occur at affiliate or partner and community sites; we are committed to working safely with them around our educational collaborations
COVID-19 Citizenship Code of Conduct for Students
All students are asked to attest to this code to protect themselves, each other, and their communities; and to serve as public health role models. Students affirm that responsible behavior extends to off-campus and personal lives, including at minimum:
- Always wearing a mask in public and when gathering with individuals outside our households
- Maintaining physical distance of at least six feet in public and when gathering with individuals outside our households
- Limiting the size of outdoor gatherings
- Minimizing the size of indoor gatherings with people outside our households
Students commit to adhering fully to current and future directives about social encounters from state and local public health officials.
Guidance for All Students (updated 12/4/2020)
If You Have Symptoms
- Follow Student Health Guidelines
- Remember that attendance policies enable students to miss course/clerkship rotations due to illness
- Contact your Student Experience Advisor if you anticipate a long absence
If You Have Traveled
- Please refer to the Deans Travel Guidance for class-by-class instruction. Please also visit the UCSF COVID 19 Travel Guidance
Volunteer Activities
- All students involved in COVID-19 external volunteer efforts, elective or paid activities that increase your risk of contracting COVID-19, must sign this form and return it to Lee Jones.
- Student-run free clinic activities remain suspended.
- UCSF-sponsored institutional COVID response volunteer work may be approved after consultation with the Medical Education Deans.
- Career Launch students who want to participate in UCSF-sponsored volunteer clinical activities, should contact Naomi Chapman to enroll in the Community Engagement Elective Rotation.
Student Organizations
School-sponsored student organizations cannot meet in-person until the pandemic subsides, but can still hold virtual events including game nights, speaker panels and parties.
FAQs: COVID-19 Testing and Precautions
F1 Students*
UCSF-sponsored institutional COVID response volunteer work may be approved after consultation with the Deans.
All other UCSF non-curricular, direct, in-person activities with each other, staff, faculty and communities remain suspended. This includes all UCSF-sponsored in-person physician, F1 shadowing and student-run free clinics.
F1MS1
- Guidance updated 10/21/2020
- All instruction virtual from Thanksgiving-Winter Break.
- Lecture/Small Groups: Effective July 2-June 30, 2020, all lectures and small groups of greater than 10 students will be held remotely for all phases of the curriculum.
- In-Person Learning: Small group, experiential learning activities such as physical diagnosis, simulation training, sensitive topic discussions and preceptorships will be held in person on the Parnassus Campus. On average, we expect that each student will be on campus one day a week. Groups will be fixed, so that in the event that a student or faculty contracts COVID-19, only the members of that group will need to be quarantined.
- Foundation Block Exams, and ARCH Week Sessions remain virtual through June 30, 2020
F1MS2
- All instruction virtual from Thanksgiving-Winter Break.
- Lecture/Small Groups: Effective July 2-June 30, 2020, all lectures and discussion groups of greater than 10 students will be held remotely for all phases of the curriculum.
- In-Person Learning: Small group, experiential learning activities such as physical diagnosis, simulation training, sensitive topic discussions and preceptorships will be held in person on the Parnassus Campus. On average, we expect that each student will be on campus one day a week. Groups will be fixed, so that in the event that a student or faculty contracts COVID-19, only the members of that group will need to be quarantine
- Foundation Block Exams, and ARCH Week Sessions remain virtual through December 31, 2020
Students in Clinical Environment
Patient-Care Guidelines
- Students should not be involved in the direct care of patients with known COVID-19
- Students should not be involved in the care of someone whose suspicion of having COVID-19 has placed them on enhanced precautions (e.g., Novel Respiratory Virus Isolation)
- Students ARE allowed to participate in the care of other patients, including patients who have recovered from COVID-19 and patients who have PPE requirements for concerns other than COVID-19
Before Entering the Clinical Environment
- If you have been traveling, you should review the Student Health COVID-19 guidelines to see if there is additional screening needed before you start
- Confirm procedures at your clinical site. Your clerkship coordinator will give you that information 1 week before you enter the clinical environment
- For all UCSF Health Sites please visit this page for up-to-date information about PPE. Sign up for the screening questionnaire in order to gain access to UCSF Health sites (you can text “SCREEN” to 83973 to get a link to the website).
- UCSF Health, ZSFG and the SFVAHCS all require eye protection for all patient encounters while in the patient room.Students will have eye protection available in all UCSF inpatient and outpatient facilities.
- Make sure you are up-to-date with your fit testing mask requirements, per the UCSF Office of Environment, Health and Safety
Students Involved in Research*
Space on campus is prioritized for essential classroom activities. Lab research is at 50% capacity. Students interested in doing lab research must receive approval from their faculty mentor before coming on campus. Please see guidelines below. Updated October 21, 2020.
Please contact MedEdDeans@ucsf.edu with additional questions.
Guidelines for Student Researchers
Campus activities are restricted to essential classroom activities unless you are a student whose faculty mentor has approved program.
- Students may participate in research in nonclinical settings, including face-to-face interactions with others (e.g., lab workers, research participants, etc.), with the approval of their faculty mentor with following caveats:
- Surgical mask at all times for all in the research environment
- Maintaining safer physical distancing (at least 6 feet away from others)
- For instances that require interaction that violates safer physical distancing, appropriate enhanced PPE is available as needed, and such interactions are limited in time (15 minutes or less)
- Disposable gloves available, particularly for handling materials touched by others
- Hand sanitizer always available for frequent hand hygiene
- Campus guidance is followed for safer on-campus operations, including:
- Appropriate screening prior to coming on campus (symptom screen app, etc.)
- Management of symptoms and testing as per SHCS/EHS for those who declare symptoms or have exposure(s).
- If a student feels uncomfortable about in-person interactions, mentors must be able to re-assign to alternative projects.
- In case of any future research activity curtailment, a reminder that students are considered non-essential and should follow the directions of their research units in conjunction with research guidance from campus.