Student Updates

3/11 COVID-19 Update and Clarifications for MD Students

To:  BUSM MD Students
From: Priya Garg, MD, Associate Dean for Medical Education,
Angela Jackson, MD, Associate Dean for Student Affairs
Date: March 11, 2020
Re: COVID-19 Update and Clarifications

Keeping our students and our community safe while ensuring educational experiences that will maintain clinical excellence is our highest priority. BUSM leadership has been meeting daily to discuss COVID-19 operations and plan for changes that will need to be made based on the University guidelines. As this is an evolving situation, we would like to remind everyone that the most up to date information, which will be updated regularly, can be found at:

• https://www.bu.edu/covid-19-information/
• https://www.bumc.bu.edu/bumc-covid-19-information-v2/

Your Personal Health

Any students who are feeling ill, especially those with fever and cough, as well as students returning from a high-risk area, or with known exposure to a CONFIRMED COVID-19 case, should contact Student Health Services. Go to the online Patient Connect Coronavirus (COVID-19) portal  and send a message to a nurse using the instructions posted.

Contact Student Health Services using the link above or your PCP if you are ill.  If you need to come in to be seen, call in ahead of time to tell them that you are coming in with respiratory symptoms and a fever. Expect to be asked to wear a mask while in the office. If you are not seeking care, stay home and limit social contact as much as possible until you are at least 24-48 hours symptom-free. If you exhibit shortness of breath, we recommend that you go to the ED.

Curriculum Years 1 and 2

All year 1 and 2 courses will be virtual as of Monday, March 16.  We will be maintaining continuity of the curriculum by using recordings from previous years or Zoom technology for live streaming and then posting the recorded classes. We will be able to conduct all sessions using virtual technology, including doctoring small groups and discussion groups. More information will be sent regarding virtual classes from course coordinators and directors.

Exams

The first-year exam scheduled for this Friday, March 13, will take place in person. We have chosen to allow for social distancing by splitting the class in half for this exam. First-year students will be receiving their time slot tomorrow from the course coordinator, which will be either 8-10 a.m. or 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. based on random sorting. If you have a health condition that makes you vulnerable, please inform Dean Jackson in Student Affairs.

As of March 16, all exams will be conducted using secure Exam Soft technology that we are obtaining now that will allow students to take their exams under security at home. If you are a second-year student, in the next week you will be receiving instructions to prepare for the first home exam. First-year students will be sent instructions before their first exam. Please make sure that you follow the instructions that come from Educational Media/Instructional Services. If you do not have a computer or iPad that you can use from home, please email rlhalley@bu.edu.

End of Year Assessments

Second-year students who have assigned clinical skills examinations at the Clinical Skills Center will complete their examinations as planned as we will have small groups of students at a time.

First-year students will be notified about their exam once the exam is closer and the restrictions are clear for that time period.

Longitudinal Preceptorship and Clinical Activities in Year 1 and 2

We will be cancelling all longitudinal preceptorship placements until the end of the year. We will redesign experiences for the following year to accommodate the changes that will occur.

Study Spaces

Students must remain in groups of less than 10 people for studying in the A-4 spaces and participate in social distancing in all other spaces. The library will remain open please consider social distancing. Please exercise effective hygiene as listed on the BUSM website and practice frequent hand washing.

Curriculum Years 3 and 4, Clerkships, Clinical Courses & Activities

Third-year students returning from Spring Break must inform Student Affairs of their travel history during break before arriving at their Monday rotation. This includes any domestic or international travel. See below.

Patient Care

Students are expected to maintain their clinical obligations and should return to their clerkships and rotations.  We have thought carefully about this decision and are following the recommendations from the AAMC. We believe students in their clinical years (on their core clinical clerkships and clinical electives) are members of the health care team. More information on the AAMC’s recommendations for COVID-19 can be found here.

No student is allowed to care for a COVID-19 patient or a patient with suspected COVID-19.

If a site has restrictions that do not allow the students to participate and students are notified that they cannot return to their site, they must inform their clerkship director immediately and Dean Yellen. We are currently working on "alternative experiences" so that you can complete your requirements with minimal interruptions in case you are removed from clinical experiences for some reason in the future.

Clerkship Didactics and Orientation 

These activities will likely become virtual experiences or be limited to small groups in person of < 10 students. Your clerkship director will provide you with more information in the coming days.

Shelf Exams

We are planning to maintain small groups of students during clerkship shelf exams and are booking rooms to allow for that. If we can make the NBME exam virtual with exam security, we will do so.

Fourth-year Electives

Students on fourth-year clinical electives will remain in these experiences. If students are participating in a non-clinical elective in which students are in groups of > 10, we will work with the elective director to plan for either virtual classrooms or other experiences.

Clinical Experience Changes

This is a fluid situation and sites are making decisions on a day-by-day basis, as is the state. If there are changes to your clinical experience, our goal is to work with students and rotation directors to help students fulfill the requirements in a timely manner..

Travel

All School-sponsored domestic and international travel is canceled. We strongly discourage any domestic or international air travel. If you do choose to travel, you must register your trip using this form.

Spring Break: The reality is that the COVID-19 situation is rapidly evolving on a daily basis. Be aware that many airlines and travel companies are honoring requests to change travel during this time without incurring additional fees, and consider postponing. If you choose to travel, make sure you carefully review the CDC and the U.S. State Department sites, as well as BU’s own COVID-19 travel site. International students should also make sure to review the ISSO’s COVID-19 travel site. Educate yourself and think through the risks (e.g., potential self-quarantine upon return if you are exposed to the virus). If you choose to visit or travel through Level 2 or 3 countries per the CDC’s Travel Health Notices, you will not be permitted to return to campus as you will be expected to self-isolate for 14 days, followed by mandatory health clearance by SHS.

Conferences: All conference travel—local, domestic, and international—is canceled. That includes any SCOMSA-supported conference travel. If you are scheduled to travel to a conference to attend/present on behalf of BUSM, please take steps to cancel all travel arrangements. Reach out to Student Affairs if you have concerns.

Events and Programming

All non-academic BUSM-sponsored events are cancelled for the foreseeable future, including but not limited to: Student group events and activities, including Service Learning (e.g., OVP), Match Day, New Student Leader Training (moving to a virtual session), Fourth-year Orientation (including Mask Fits).