Faculty Responsibility

Medical students are learners and are not licensed to provide independent patient care. At all times, the supervising attending physician retains medical and legal responsibility for the patient’s care and is ultimately responsible for the evaluation and management of the patient. All supervising attending physicians must have faculty appointments with the UCI School of Medicine (UCISOM).

It is the responsibility of the supervising faculty to ensure all residents and fellows are appropriately prepared for their roles in teaching and supervision of medical students within their scope of practice. Some of the day-to-day supervision of medical students may be delegated to the appropriately-prepared resident or fellow at the discretion of the supervising faculty. However, the supervising attending physician retains full responsibility for the supervision of the medical students assigned to them during their clinical rotation.

This policy applies to all faculty, including volunteer and affiliated faculty, at all training sites.

Medical Student Team Role and Supervision Requirements

While engaged in clinical rotations or clinical activities associated with prescribed course work, medical students should be incorporated into and accepted as an integral part of the team, permitted to participate in team care of the patient, and expected to demonstrate individual ownership of many patient care responsibilities.

To facilitate the education of medical students in a supervised manner that ensures student and patient safety, supervising attending physicians and/or resident physicians will:

Introduce student as a “medical student.” A photo ID with student designation will be worn at all times.
Be immediately available, on-site, while students are engaged in patient care activities.
Provide opportunities for students to demonstrate responsibility and ownership of patient care responsibilities.

This includes opportunities to take patient histories, perform complete and/or focused physical examinations, and enter findings in the medical record of the patient with the approval of the supervising attending physician/resident/fellow. Other opportunities include reviewing focused topics related to patients on the service and reporting information back to the team to demonstrate self-directed learning, clinical knowledge, and application of knowledge to the care of patients.

The supervising attending physician or designated resident/fellow will be responsible for reviewing student documentation and countersigning notes.

Medical students may participate in invasive and non-invasive procedures under the direct, in-person supervision of an attending physician. A faculty member may authorize a qualified resident or fellow to supervise a medical student when appropriate. The supervising physician must have privileges or authorization to perform the procedure being supervised. The degree of supervision must take into account the complexity of the procedure, potential for untoward effects, and the demonstrated competence, maturity and responsibility of each student in order to ensure the safety and comfort of the patient.

Faculty are required to provide students with regular and timely formative feedback. At the conclusion of each rotation, the supervising attending physician will complete a summative evaluation of the student.

The clerkship or course director should be notified immediately if serious academic or professional gaps in student performance exist.

Students should also be encouraged to perform self-assessments and report to the supervising attending physician and resident identified areas for improvement along with a plan for improvement.

Learning Environment

UCISOM is committed to providing trainees with a positive learning environment and has a zero-tolerance policy for acts of student mistreatment or discrimination.

To facilitate the education of medical students in a positive learning environment, supervising attending physicians and/or resident physicians will:

Provide a learning environment that is free from mistreatment, including, but not limited to: abusing the supervisor-learner relationship; public humiliation; physical harm; requiring performance of personal services; sexual harassment; discrimination, including gender, ethnic, and sexual orientation discrimination; offensive behaviors based on personal beliefs or characteristics.
Set a model example of professionalism and collegiality, and demonstrate the attributes becoming of a UCISOM medical professional: knowledgeable, skillful, altruistic and dutiful. In addition, abide by the elements of the Honor code: respect, compassion, honesty, patient privacy, and compliance with the law.
Encourage student to contact the attending and/or the clerkship or course director with problems or concerns in clinical, administrative, professional, or educational matters. Students may also directly contact the Associate Dean for Basic Science, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Science Education, or Senior Associate Dean for Students. They can also report concerns through the anonymous feedback system.

Non-involvement of Heath Providers Policy and Recusal Procedures

Definition of a heath provider: Any provider of health and/or psychiatric/psychological services.

Non-involvement: Any health provider of a medical student shall have no involvement in the academic assessment of or decisions about the promotion/retention of that student.

Recusal Procedures: In the event that a student selects a faculty member to serve as their health provider, the faculty member shall recuse themselves from activities associated with that student’s academic assessment or advancement.

The faculty physician and the medical student are advised to immediately contact the appropriate clerkship/course director and/or the Senior Associate Dean for Students should this situation arise.

If the clerkship or course director has served as a student’s health provider, the assessment and/or grade should be finalized by the Department Chair, or someone that the Chair appoints for this task.

Reporting Procedures

UCISOM encourages students to report problems or concerns in clinical, administrative, professional, or educational matters. Included in these matters are any concerns pertaining to supervision or student mistreatment.

Students can report concerns through multiple mechanisms without fear of intimidation or retaliation. The following are avenues students may use to report concerns:

Supervising faculty
Course/clerkship director
Residency program director
Department Chair
Associate Dean for Basic Science Education, Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Science Education, Senior Associate Dean for Students, or any other Medical Education team member
Campus Ombudsperson
UCI Office of Equal Opportunity and Diversity
Confidential evaluation of the faculty and/or course/clerkship
Online anonymous feedback system

The party to which the concern was reported and/or the Medical Education team will respond expeditiously to investigate and remedy concerns.

Last approved by SOM Committee on Curriculum and Educational Policy: October 10, 2024