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Absences If you become ill or you must be absent from your duties for any other reason, even for one day, please notify your faculty and housestaff preceptors, as well as the Medicine Clerkship Office (Carol Carden at 966-7776). In the event of extended absences, you must consult with the Director and Coordinator of the Clerkship. An absence of three days or longer during a four-week rotation will result in an incomplete grade unless the absence is approved ahead of time by the Clerkship Director. Personal illness and family emergencies are examples of legitimate reasons for being absent. Weddings, visits to family and friends, and pre-purchased airline tickets are examples of not acceptable reasons for being absent from a rotation.

Professional Conduct As you become an integral member of the health care team, your degree of interaction with patients will often equal or even exceed that of the more senior members of your team. Accordingly, you are expected to meet certain standards of professional decorum. You are expected to be present and on time for all rounds, conferences and other scheduled activities unless patient care activities are more pressing. You are expected to wear clean white coats and your UNC ID at all times. Men must wear shirt and tie; women should be comparably attired. You may change into scrubs in the evening on call days at the discretion of your ward team. Please change back into street clothes the following morning. Do not chew gum while in the hospital. Do not take food or drinks (including coffee) on rounds. Most importantly, you must always interact with patients, families, staff and colleagues in a professional and caring manner. Difficulties with appropriate professional conduct can and will be reflected in your final grade.

On Call There is no requirement for overnight call for students during the medicine clerkship. At some AHEC sites, students are strongly encouraged to spend the night on call with the intern. If you are at a site that does not expect students to spend the night, it is important to recognize that educational opportunities often do occur during the late evening hours. For students that wish to take advantage of these opportunities, there are call rooms available. For information on call rooms available at UNC, please click here. For AHEC sites, you will find out about call rooms during your local orientation meeting. If not, please contact the local AHEC coordinator to learn how to access these rooms.

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