Ramp-up roundup: Important updates regarding on-campus work for the week ending June 12

Dr. Terry Wolpaw, vice dean of educational affairs, Dr. Leslie Parent, vice dean for research and graduate studies, and Dr. Charles Lang, associate dean for graduate studies, sent the following email to College of Medicine faculty, staff and students on June 12:

Research Update

Research ramp-up: We have successfully navigated the second week of COM Phase 2. Everyone has carefully complied with lab occupancy requirements, and no safety issues have been identified. Therefore, we feel confident and excited to announce that on Wednesday, June 17, the College of Medicine will transition to COM Phase 3.

This move will permit research activity to be to the 50% level and the physical distancing requirement has been reduced to 300 square feet per person in lab. Again, face masks are still required by all lab workers at all times while in lab, and a face shield must be added if two individuals will be working less than six feet apart. Our thanks to the laboratory and departmental safety officers as well as the faculty, staff and students who have made this progression possible. See details on requirements for COM Phase 3 here.

Scheduling: As previously, all PIs should complete a schedule of research activities for their respective labs for the upcoming week. Schedules should be submitted to your department chair, vice chair for research or their designee. Schedules can then be uploaded to the respective departmental folder within the Box folder at med.psu.edu/weekly-research-reports and posted on the lab door. Note that full names must appear on the copy that is uploaded to Box, but the document can be edited to use initials or general roles only before posting.

Online check-in: There will be no changes in screening for the College of Medicine moving into this next week. Please remember that everyone entering the College through the Crescent or Biomedical Research Building is required to scan their ID badge prior to entry into the building and to complete the very short, web-based form at med.psu.edu/checkin before arriving at the screening station each day. For a more complete description of the process or how to download the check-in form to your phone for easy access, please visit med.psu.edu/coronavirus/campus.

Clinical research: In general, clinical research activities will remain unchanged moving into the next week. Clinical research groups are reminded that they must follow all of the College and University Research guidelines, as applicable. Additional guidance, including allowances of some non-therapeutic clinical research effective June 1, was announced and can be found here. There are ongoing discussions at the University level related to increasing observational research even further. Stay tuned for more details.

COVID-19 instructions for supervisors – assessment and reporting: New guidance was issued to College of Medicine faculty, supervisors and managers about how to respond to suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19 in their work unit. Please encourage students, postdocs, staff and faculty in your area to stay home if they are ill, and to promptly report symptoms of suspected COVID-19 infection. We encourage you to promote a culture in which everyone feels comfortable reporting suspected infections and exposures to COVID-19 without any negative repercussions so that close contacts of potential cases can be isolated and work areas can be cleaned while test results are pending. Please take the time to familiarize yourself with the contents of the new document, which is available in OneDrive (Penn State Access ID login required).

Education Update

Education ramp-up: The second week of the fourth-year medical students’ return to the clinical setting has been a success. We are now evaluating how we will bring the incoming first-year students onto our campus and utilize pre-clerkship learning settings. A committee has been formed to determine the numbers of learners that can be present in any given classroom while still ensuring social distancing. We will share more information about classroom use as it becomes available. In addition, we are looking at ways to utilize virtual reality as an additional resource for anatomy instruction, which will provide an interactive instructional method that may be useful for remote learning. We’ll update you as new information unfolds.

Medical students: Our fourth-year medical students have successfully navigated their return to the clinical setting to do acting internships and advanced clinical electives. Third-year clerkship students are very much looking forward to their return to direct patient care, which is anticipated no later than the end of July.

Physician assistant students: Our physician assistant second-year students have navigated the use of telehealth for the past two weeks while doing their Family and Community Medicine clinical rotations remotely. With the shifting balance in the Family Medicine offices from telehealth to face-to-face patient visits, the faculty and physician assistant program are ready to bring the students back into the office setting, beginning on Monday, June 15, for the final two weeks of their Family Medicine rotation.

Graduate education: Our doctoral graduate students should be back on campus and preparing to restart their research or complete lab rotations. Please check in with your mentor or program director if you cannot return to the lab because of health concerns or travel delays.

News and Information

For continued updates on the College of Medicine, please read Daily Brief that is sent each weekday via email and visit med.psu.edu/coronavirus as information is added daily to keep you informed.

If you're having trouble accessing this content, or would like it in another format, please email the Penn State College of Medicine web department.