Policy on Attendance in the Second 100 Weeks

In the event of an emergency (illness or otherwise), a student must report any absence to the Office of Student Affairs as soon as possible using the Absence Reporting Form. The student should also notify their team or supervisor, the discipline-specific ACE/AI/Selective/Elective Director, and their ACE Continuity Clinic Preceptor, if the absence will affect a scheduled ACE Continuity Clinic session.

If the emergency precludes access to the reporting form or an ability to notify the team or supervisor, the student should reach out to the Office of Student Affairs using the on-call phone.

In the case of an emergency during a Reflection, Integration, and Assessment (RIA) week, the student should use the on-call phone to report the absence, and also complete the Absence Reporting Form.

In all cases, the discipline-specific ACE Director/AI Director/Selective or Elective Director will determine the need for the student to make up time. The school may require a doctor’s note for absences due to acute illness.

In all other instances (including religious observances), students must request approval in advance and in writing for ANY missed days from the discipline-specific ACE Director/AI Director/Selective or Elective Director, who will determine the need to make up time. The request is not considered approved until receipt of an affirmative response. In addition, the student is responsible for notifying their team or supervisor as well as the Office of Student Affairs via the Absence Reporting Form.

In accordance with New York State Law, each student who is absent because of their religious beliefs will be given an equivalent opportunity to register for classes or make up any examination, study or work requirements which he or she may have missed because of that absence on any particular day or days. No student shall be expelled or refused admission to the School of Medicine because he or she is unable to participate in any examination, study or work requirement because of his or her religious obligations and practices.

Failure to follow this policy or procedure may result in negative consequences, including but not limited to:

• the requirement to make up missed time;
• lowering of grade or failure of the clerkship;
• reference in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE);
• ineligibility for conference scholarships;
• ineligibility for Alpha Omega Alpha, Gold Humanism Society, or departmental graduation awards;
• removal from a leadership role(s); or
• the filing of a complaint of breach of professionalism, with its attendant processes and consequences.