Safety Guidelines for Students
Standard Precautions
Students will adhere to all guidelines for Standard Precautions within the practice immersion agencies.
Students and practice immersion faculty are expected to take measures to maintain their personal health so as not to jeopardize themselves or any patient with whom they come in contact. Students who are accepted into the program must show evidence of the USU required immunizations and diagnostic procedures as required by the practice immersion agencies utilized. At any time, a student may be required to receive a medical examination if deemed necessary by the practice immersion faculty for the well-being of the student and/or the patients. If this is required of the student, the Office of Field Experience will be notified and a new Medical Clearance Form will be required by the student. Until the document is received the student will be placed on a practice immersion pause and will not complete hours with their Project Mentor or log any hours into Project Concert.
As students are in contact with patients in a variety of health situations, it is imperative that students maintain protection against communicable illnesses. In addition, students must meet agency health requirements to enter Practice Immersion coursework. Students are responsible for updating BLS, personal health insurance, and immunizations when needed. Students will not be allowed to participate in Practice Immersion experiences unless all agency and USU requirements are current. Any student that falls out of compliance due to expired documentation will immediately be placed on a practice immersion pause and will be restricted from practice immersion participation until renewed documentation is provided, and coinciding faculty will be notified if unresolved in a timely manner. Missing practice immersion may jeopardize student success in the program. All students are responsible for the completion of the required documents. The deadline to submit the required documentation is a minimum of 16 weeks prior to the planned Practice Immersion course. Documentation submitted late may result in a later registration of the practice immersion course. Students should submit their documentation early to avoid a delay in their Practice Immersion start date. Instructions on completing Complio are included in the appendices (Appendix D). Please note that a student’s practice immersion site may require additional or different health and safety documents than those in the lists below, as stipulated in an affiliation agreement. Students must also be aware that a practice immersion site’s requirements for students may differ from those required for employees. Thus, they may have to meet a different set of standards that are required for students in their organization, even if they are employed at the practice immersion site.
Students that refuse to provide appropriate health and safety documentation or request medical waivers (subject to approval), by the appropriate deadline will be responsible for finding and securing their own practice immersion experiences that meet the appropriate standards. Students must provide documentation from the practice immersion site (owner, director, CEO) stating that they approve the student to do Practice Immersion hours within their facility without documentation of these health and safety requirements. Documentation will be verified by the Office of Field Experience prior to each rotation.