24. Program Responsibilities
As a general rule, the Program is responsible for the following aspects of the educational activities and environment during the clinical phase:
- Adequately prepare the student for the clinical experience. First year PA students will take a comprehensive examination, the Physician Assistant Clinical Knowledge Rating and Assessment Tool (PACKRAT), near the end of the didactic year. The results of this test will serve as a tool to help direct the student focus of study for the clinical year.
- Establish and provide clerkship assignments and placements for all students for all required clerkships.
- Provide general clerkship and discipline-specific learning outcomes/objectives to preceptors and students.
- Provide the preceptor with a Student Evaluation form to be completed at the end of the clerkship.
- Ensure that all students have liability coverage.
- Facilitate all required credentialing for students.
- Periodically perform clinical site visits to determine that the locations are effective educational environments for the student.
- Develop and maintain affiliation agreements with all clinical sites.
- Commit to developing new relationships with preceptors and clinical institutions. Students who become aware of new/potential clinical preceptors should provide the DCE with the individual’s and facility name, business address, and contact phone number(s).
- Interact with all preceptors, sites and students and be available to respond to any problems or concerns. In addition, should problems arise at the site, the Program retains the right to remove a student from a clerkship.
- Work with the preceptor and site to provide a healthy and safe clinical learning environment.
- Respond quickly in the case of concerns raised regarding any student whose actions directly or indirectly jeopardize the health and safety of patients, faculty, clinical site staff or fellow students. The Program retains the right to immediately remove the student from a clinical clerkship if such behavior is demonstrated and/or reported.
- Provide students with training in HIPAA and OSHA and instruction regarding risk of exposure and post-exposure protocols.
- Require that students evaluate the clinical preceptor and site following each clinical clerkship.
- Provide feedback to clinical sites and preceptors as appropriate.
- Administer an end of clerkship written examination during all on-campus seminars.
- Assign a grade for the student after completion of the clerkship. The PA faculty is responsible for the final grade, not the preceptor. Grading criteria can be found in each clerkship syllabi.