College of Medicine pandemic response roundup: Updates regarding on-campus efforts for the week ending Aug. 14
Dr. Leslie Parent, vice dean for research and graduate studies; Dr. Terry Wolpaw, vice dean for educational affairs; Dr. Charles Lang, associate dean for graduate studies; and Dr. Neal Thomas, associate dean for clinical research, updated faculty, staff and students on Aug. 14 about the College of Medicine’s continued response to the COVID-19 pandemic:
Exposure protocols
If you think you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19 or have symptoms yourself, please do not come on campus. Instead, follow this protocol:
- Medical, physician assistant and graduate students: Call Student Health at 717-531-5998.
- Student Health will provide screening and schedule a COVID screening test as needed with a short turnaround time. While awaiting results, please quarantine and alert any roommates and other close contacts.
- Postdoctoral fellows and employees: Call Employee Health at 717-531-4208.
Research update
Research: We will maintain our capacity level of 50% for the next several weeks. We continue to monitor the number of cases in our county and at our facilities. If you are interested in the number of COVID cases, see the Penn State Health dashboard, which is updated weekly. Thank you all for your continued compliance with the policies we have in place. This research capacity will remain unchanged as we assess the impact of our incoming class of graduate students on the college safety environment.
Laboratory staff, postdoctoral fellows and students who are COVID-positive: To assure transparency in reporting and facilitate contact tracing, it is the responsibility of lab supervisors to report suspected or documented cases of COVID infection in their research group to Dr. Chuck Lang (chl1@psu.edu) and Ray Scheetz (BioSafetyOfficer@pennstatehealth.psu.edu). Confidentiality of health information will be maintained. Lab supervisors should report any postdoctoral fellow with COVID symptoms or positive test results to Dr. Gail Thomas (gthomas4@pennstatehealth.psu.edu). Failure to report persons under investigation will be viewed as a serious violation of biosafety protocols and may result in closure of the lab.
Safety precautions in labs: A reminder to guard against complacency in maintaining safety precautions in lab. It is critical for everyone in lab to wear a type 1 procedure mask (no cloth masks) and maintain at least 6 feet of physical distance between workers. This keeps everyone safe and will minimize viral spread if someone in the lab becomes infected. Even if you are the only person in lab, please wear a mask to prevent possible contamination. Failure of individuals or groups to follow safety guidance may have their lab activities reduced preemptively for noncompliance.
Comparative Medicine and Animal Resources Program: We are currently approving and processing animal orders to complete existing work, resume work that was stopped during the reduction, and imports and exports that had been on hold. Orders for starting new projects involving animals will continue to be prioritized during phase 3 with priority given to time-sensitive work. Those seeking approval for animal orders should contact Dr. Ron Wilson (rwilson2@pennstatehealth.psu.edu). We appreciate research staff utilizing the Outlook calendars to schedule their work in the animal facilities.
Education update
Graduate Education: We are excited to welcome our new graduate students to the College of Medicine. Welcome Week and orientation will start on Monday, Aug. 17, with classes starting on Aug. 24. If any student has not received the orientation schedule, please contact Kathy Simon (ksimon@pennstatehealth.psu.edu) immediately. Please remember to wear your mask while on campus and arrive promptly at the College entrance at your scheduled time. Staff will meet everyone at the entrance and provide guidance throughout the day. Please join us for the Graduate Student Oath Ceremony on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 2 p.m. for the Public Health Science students and Thursday, Aug. 20, at 9 a.m. for the biomedical students. Links to follow.
Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative (CITI) training modules on COVID-19: All incoming graduate students are required to complete the three CITI modules on COVID-19 (Introduction, Prevention Strategies and Moving Forward) that can be found at about.citiprogram.org/en/homepage. Your certificate of completion can be uploaded to Canvas. Orientation can not be attended until this requirement is completed.
Student COVID-19 Compact: Promoting health, safety and mutual respect is a shared responsibility that all members of the Penn State community must take seriously to maintain safe, in-person education and research experiences. The Penn State COVID-19 Compact outlines a series of actionable guidelines to which all students must adhere. The Compact is a pledge which indicates that students have read, understood and agree to uphold each of the referenced requirements and understand the additional guidelines. Students are required to access the Compact through their LionPATH account. As of today, more than 70,000 students have acknowledged and signed the Compact. The Compact must be signed by 8 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 24.
Medical education: All four classes of medical students are now back in Hershey and fully involved in hybrid classes and clinical rotations. This week, the first-year students completed their second week of Scientific Principles of Medicine, their first foundational science course. They also donned their white coats as they continued the Foundations of Patient-Centered Care, their longitudinal clinical medicine course. Socially distanced and wearing a mask, shield, stethoscope and white coat, they interact with standardized patients who Zoom into their small group on a large plasma screen. Second-year MD students are in their gastrointestinal medicine, health systems science and humanities courses. On Wednesday, they began in-person anatomy dissection sessions, adhering to all carefully planned safety measures.
Today, each of the four societies are holding meetings with the first-year students and panels of peers in Years 2, 3 and 4. They are coming together to discuss safe actions on- and off-campus that will also help create the learning community we value.
Physician assistant (PA) program: First-year PA students recently received their white coats and alumni-gifted stethoscopes and participated in their first standardized patient event. Summer semester comes to a close next week as they complete final exam week, followed by their two-week intensive History and Physical Examination hybrid course beginning Aug. 24. Second-year PA students head into the final week of their current rotations throughout the Penn State Health system. All students are currently completing core rotations in Internal Medicine, Behavioral Health and Women’s Health. Their final week of this rotation closes with their Call-Back Day Aug. 21.
Undergraduates on campus: Given the limited capacity within our research facilities, the need to maintain physical distancing and the updates we’ve included in our laboratory standard operating procedures, undergraduate and high school students are currently not permitted to have an on-campus research experience. We are prioritizing resources and capacity in labs for our graduate and medical student research endeavors. Remote internships are encouraged throughout the summer months.
Flu shots: In the coming weeks, you will receive emails about free flu shots being offered to faculty, staff and students. Unless there is an overriding medical reason, we strongly recommend that ALL students be vaccinated against the flu in September. Doing so will help prevent our COVID testing capabilities from being overwhelmed by those with flu symptoms.
Additional news and information
Reminder: University Fitness Center moves to next phase of capacity on Monday, Aug. 17
Starting Aug. 17, the University Fitness Center (UFC) will move to the next level in capacity by allowing spouses and family members to also use the facilities. Hershey campus employees and their family members as well as students are eligible to return during phase 2. The center will maintain the current hours of operation, Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit times are restricted to a maximum of 75 minutes. For additional information, please visit the UFC website.
Harrell Health Sciences Library opens with limited capacity
The Harrell Health Sciences Library at the College of Medicine is open to faculty, staff and students. It is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed on weekends until further notice. In this first phase, the library will restrict its capacity to 50% and implement new safety precautions.
Meeting Reservations
While most meetings should continue to be held remotely, meeting locations have been updated in BookIT to reflect the reduced capacity allowed in each room to maintain social distancing. Please remember it is the meeting leader’s responsibility to ensure the room capacity does not exceed the required number.
Easy Access to Check-in Form
If you would like to easily access the med.psu.edu/checkin location daily, follow these easy steps:
For iPhone/iPad:
- Launch Safari and load med.psu.edu/checkin.
- Tap the Share button, which looks like a square with an arrow rising from it. Look for it on the bottom of the screen on an iPhone; near the top on an iPad.
- Tap “Add to Home Screen” in the Share menu.
- Name the shortcut as desired, then tap “Add.”
- The shortcut icon will now appear on the phone or tablet screen.
For Android:
- Launch Chrome and load med.psu.edu/checkin.
- Tap the menu button and choose “Add to Home Screen.
- Name the shortcut as desired, then tap “Add.”
- The shortcut icon now appears on the phone or tablet screen.
Are you reading the Daily Brief?
For continued updates on the College of Medicine, please read the Daily Brief that is sent each weekday via email (comes through as News in your email) and visit med.psu.edu/coronavirus as information is added daily to keep you informed.
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