COVID-19 Updates
Get the latest updates, information, and Frequently Asked Questions from Medical Education and Graduate Medical Education.
Highlights
- F2 Students Return to Clinical Environments: On July 13, 2020 students returned to clerkships. More information.
- Visiting Student Program Cancelled for 2020: 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.
Foundations 2 Students
WATCH: Foundations 2 Student Check-In (July 10, 2020)
- Core Clerkships Part B resume on July 13, 2020
Career Launch Students
Graduate Medical Education
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
If You Have Symptoms
- Check in with Student Health
- 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 been traveling or left the Bay Area, you may be required to take a test for COVID-19 before resuming any educational activities. Please visit Student Health COVID-19 Care about next steps
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 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 non-curricular, direct, in-person activities with each other, staff, faculty and communities remain suspended. This includes all UCSF-sponsored in-person physician, shadowing and student-run free clinics.
F2/Career Launch Students
Patient-Care Guidelines
- Students should not be involved in the direct care of patients with known COVID-19
- Students also 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 those who have PPE requirements for concerns other than COVID-19
Before Entering the Clinical Environment
- 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).
- 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
- 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
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 as long as these guidelines are followed:
Guidelines for Student Researchers
- Appropriate infection mitigation measures are available and implemented. Based on current guidance, this includes, for example:
- 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.
- If you anticipate challenges with these guidelines, please reach out to your research mentor to discuss further.