Student Participation in the Care of Known or Suspected COVID-19 Patients Policy

It is the policy of the University of Arizona College of Medicine – Phoenix to allow students who are at least two weeks past completing full COVID-19 vaccination to opt-in to care for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 infection.

Vaccinations: COVID-19 vaccination is recommended and is typically required by clinical sites. Rare exemptions may be requested through the assigned clinical sites and COM-P will defer the exemption decision to clinical sites.

Due to the complexity of scheduling within the distributed model, it is not possible to reschedule or modify clinical assignments based on COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

Process and Guidelines

1. Patient care during COM – P courses:
   • The default status is for students not to participate in the care of patients with known or suspected COVID-19 infection.
   • Students who are vaccinated and who wish to opt-in to participating in the care of known or suspected COVID-19 patients must first:
     • Upload proof of their full vaccination to the immunization tracking system (MyRecordTracker) for verification as needed.
     • Individually notify the resident(s) and attending(s) on their team of their decision to opt-in.
   • Students should not knowingly care for patients with known or suspected COVID-19 infection if they have not completed the COVID-19 vaccination at least two (2) weeks earlier.
   • Students are encouraged to upload documentation of their COVID-19 vaccination even if they choose not to opt-in, as clinical sites frequently have vaccination requirements.
   • Student participation in COVID-19 patient care may be restricted by the clinical site.
   • All students are required to follow PPE requirements regardless of vaccine status.
2. Service learning activities:
   • Students may participate in service learning activities involving patient care two weeks following completion of COVID-19 vaccination.
   • Documentation of completed vaccination must be uploaded into MyRecordTracker for verification as needed.