- No student is to assume automatic release from the clinical area. Students must obtain permission from the clinical coordinator or assigned clinical instructor.
- The clinical coordinator or assigned clinical instructor have the authority to hold the student beyond the specified release time for specific educational purposes unless the student has exceeded the daily and/or weekly maximum hour allowance per the COA policy.
- If a student feels he/she was unjustly held past the specified release time, the student is to follow the Grievance Procedure.
- Students are encouraged to stay voluntarily beyond their specified release time on a scheduled clinical day if they anticipate a specific educational experience would otherwise be missed (e.g., completion of the majority of an index case or other rare clinical experience).
- Students are encouraged to assist with other experiences contributing to educational enhancement when not performing their assigned cases (i.e. insert intravenous catheters, perform preoperative and postoperative assessments).
Every effort will be made to keep a reasonable time commitment each week following the Council on Accreditation’s Standards and Guidelines. A reasonable number of hours to ensure patient safety and promote effective student learning should not exceed 64 hours per week. This time commitment includes the hours spent in class and all clinical hours (including in-house call) averaged over four weeks. This MUST include a 10-hour rest period between scheduled clinical shifts. A student may not provide direct patient care for longer than 16 continuous hours.