College of Medicine ramp-up roundup: Updates regarding on-campus work for the week ending July 18

The following message was sent on behalf of Dr. Terry Wolpaw, Dr. Leslie Parent, Dr. Chuck Lang and Dr. Neal Thomas.

New screening procedures started July 13

Thank you all for following the new screening process. Please continue to follow this process, as this will help contact tracing efforts.

Anyone who uses the College of Medicine main entrance or Biomedical Research Building entrance, as well as all COM faculty, staff and students, are required to follow these steps:

• Before entering the building, complete the short, web-based form at med.psu.edu/checkin each day.
• Use the COM main entrance and Biomedical Research Building entrances only for temperature and symptom screening.
• Scan your ID badge before entering the main doors.
• Show your green checkmark to the screener to demonstrate you have completed the online check-in.
• See instructions on how to save the med.psu.edu/checkin icon to your mobile device’s screen for easy access at med.psu.edu/coronavirus/campus.

Screening hours at these entrances will continue Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Research Update

Research ramp-up: As a reminder, we are continuing at 50% capacity for laboratory research and all personnel across all departments. If you can do your work remotely, then you should continue to do so. The leadership team is continuously monitoring local conditions and PPE resource availability, and will use this information and guidelines from the Commonwealth in determining when we will transition to COM Phase 4.

Observational human subjects research: Earlier this week, we announced that in-person observational human subjects research will be considered for approval using the process developed by the University. See details here. For clinical studies that were approved previously, including those studies with participants who are on campus for clinical reasons, investigators do not need to reapply using this new process.

What happens when someone does not follow safety plans? Our college has developed and implemented plans that allow gradually increasing our research activities. Deans, chairs and institute directors are responsible for ensuring their faculty, staff and students comply with each of their unit’s plans. If an individual is aware of any non-compliance, they should report it to the appropriate dean, chair or Institute director. Persistent non-compliance, when confirmed by the appropriate dean, chair or Institute director, may result in removal of the individual’s approval for conducting research on campus or at other facilities. Safety concerns can also be reported to Office of Biosafety at BiosafetyOfficer@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.

Education Update

Medical education: This week we welcomed our incoming class of medical students for orientation – virtually through Zoom – which is a first for our medical school. These entering students will begin the Transition to Medical School course on Monday, meet their society adviser coaches and start working with their peers and faculty facilitators in their first problem-based learning groups. We also welcomed our third-year students back to campus to start the direct patient care component of their clerkships. We now have all third and fourth year students back in the clinical care setting, engaged in the direct care of patients and participating fully in clinical teams and outpatient practices.

Physician assistant program: Beginning July 20, the first-year PA students will utilize a hybrid model that incorporates in-person coursework along with continued online learning for the remainder of the summer semester. Second-year PA students are continuing their clinical year experiences and preparing for their next rotation to begin July 27.

Undergraduates on campus: We continue to increase our on-campus research presence and more students are start returning to campus. However, given the limited capacity within our facilities, the need to maintain physical distancing and the updates we’ve included in our lab standard operating procedures (SOP), please understand that all undergraduate and high school students are still not able to have an on-campus research experience. We must prioritize our resources and capacity for our graduate and medical students’ research endeavors. This situation is not expected to change until after Labor Day, at the earliest, at which time we will reassess these types of research opportunities on a case-by-case basis. Remote internships are encouraged throughout the summer months.

Graduate education: We now know that about half of our course work for fall 2020 will be conducted remotely, while the other half of our courses will be held in-person or a mixture of in person and remote. For those in-person courses, students can be assured that all pertinent mitigation measures will be strictly adhered to for the safety of both students and instructors. Similarly, a hybrid orientation will be held the week of Aug. 17 and will include some in-person social activities. By now students should have been contacted by their program’s leadership with information pertinent to their particular program. Continue to look for emails to your @psu.edu email account, and please reply to all email requests in the timely manner.

Additional updates

University Fitness Center open

Reminder that the University Fitness Center is open with limited number of members and with shortened days and hours to ensure everyone’s safety.

Hershey campus employees and students are eligible to return during Phase 1. The center will be open weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit times will be restricted to a maximum of 75 minutes. For details, visit the UFC website.

Harrell Health Sciences Library open with limited capacity, new guidelines

The Harrell Health Sciences Library at the College of Medicine reopened its doors July 13 to faculty, staff and students. It will be open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. and closed on weekends.

In this first phase, the library will restrict its capacity to 50% and implement new safety precautions. See new guidelines and safety procedures here.

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 and visit med.psu.edu/coronavirus, as information is added daily to keep you informed.

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