![]() |
|
|
![]() |
||
Mission and Objectives of the College
Student and Facilities Policies and Procedures
Communication and Identification
Copyright and Use of Information Technology
Publications and Media Relations
Release of Third Party Information
Academic Policies and Procedures
Participation in Special Environments
Clinical Policies and Procedures
White Coats and VCOM ID Badges
Students’ Involvement in Patient Care
Performing Patient Care Activities
Change of Rotation Requests—Extreme Hardships
VCOM’s Technical Standards for Continuing Enrollment
Behavioral Policies and Procedures
Resolution and Grievance Procedure
Education at VCOM takes place in special environments, such as the anatomy lab and clinical
facilities that may contain hazardous physical and chemical environments. Working and studying
in these special environments may require the student to make an informed decision concerning
continued participation because failure to participate in required classes could result in dismissal.
Examples may include, but are not limited to: students who believe they are allergic or sensitive
to certain chemicals, students who are pregnant and are concerned about potential hazards to a
developing fetus, or students who believe they are immuno-compromised or have increased
susceptibility to disease. The student must decide upon their ability to participate prior to
beginning school. For a student who develops problems or becomes pregnant after starting, their
program may be delayed until the student has seen an allergist and has taken appropriate
precautions to successfully complete the program, or the pregnancy is completed. If the student
is unable to attend, he/she should obtain a medical withdrawal from the College.
Examinations are given at regularly scheduled intervals within blocks and during finals weeks.
Finals weeks do not include classes and are set aside for assessment purposes only. Students are
assessed on the basis of their performance of assignments, their achievements in written and
practical examinations, and their evaluations in the clinical setting. The Promotion Board, in the
process of determining eligibility for promotion or graduation, considers the results of the
student assessments and reports concerning attendance, conduct and potential professional
attributes.
Grading Scale and GPAs
OMS-1, OMSII, OMS-III,
OMS-IV Module Grades OMS-III AND OMS-IV* Other GradesA 90-100 Traditional Rotation Grades I Incomplete B+ 85-89 H Honors IP In Progress B 80-84 HP High Pass WM Withdrew-Medical C+ 75-79 P Pass W Withdrew C 70-74 UF Fail S Satisfactory D 65-69 U Unsatisfactory F <65
*both traditional grades and clinical modules/exam grades are assigned in MS-III and MS-IV (see below).
The grade point average (GPA) is the sum of earned grade points divided by the sum of
block-hour credits passed and failed. Students are required to remediate all courses within a
block where the student’s grade falls below 70 and above 65 (or a D). Students who do not
successfully remediate these courses are awarded an F or failing grade. A student will only be
given a C for a remediated course they pass with a grade above 70.
In cases where the grade falls within the F range, or there is a failed remediation of a D grade
and the student is given an F for failure to remediate, the student will be referred to the
Promotion Board to determine the appropriate action to be taken. All F scores go to Promotion
Board.
Campus courses are eligible for the receipt of all traditional grading assignments. For the first
two years, most courses have a traditional letter grade (A, B+, B, C+, C, and D, and F) and are
calculated into the GPA.
For the third and fourth years, all rotations have both a “clinical modules/exam” grade which is the Honors, High Pass, Pass, Fail system; these grades are not calculated in the GPA. An example of a clinical rotation grade, with its two components is:
Clinical Rotation I
Pediatrics Rotation 180 hours High Pass Pediatrics Modules/Exams 20 hours Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory
Students must pass both the “module” and “rotation” portions of the course. All failures must be
repeated. Students who fail one or more rotations will be reviewed and acted upon by the
Promotion Board.
No grade will be changed unless the instructor certifies to the Registrar, in writing, that an error
occurred or that the remediation results in a grade change, or the Dean certifies a change based
upon an appeal.
In addition to the policies above, students are taken before the Promotion Board and may be
automatically placed on academic probation for the following reasons:
1) cumulative grade point average falls below 70 (C) at the end of the academic year, or
2) receives an “F” in a clinical experience, or
3) fails to score a 70 or above on the post rotation exam on the second attempt.
The record of each student on academic probation will be reviewed each block to evaluate the
student’s potential for continuance. At the end of the academic year, the Promotion Board may
recommend promotion to the following year, repetition of the year just completed, repetition of a
specific course or system, make-up examinations, summer courses, or dismissal. In general,
students are not allowed to repeat an entire course more than once. On rare occasion the
Promotion Board or Dean may allow a student to repeat a block or course more than once.
Osteopathic medical students are assessed during the third year as described below:
1. Case modules: Are used for end-of-rotation self-assessments to provide the student a personal
assessment to each specific clinical area within the completed rotation.
2. Post-rotation exams: Each student takes these exams to assure that the expected basic content
or medical knowledge has been acquired. In addition to the experiences received in the
clinical training sites, students are expected to read assigned texts and complete online
curriculum to prepare for these exams.
3. Comprehensive exams: This exam is given at year end of OMS II and OMS III to evaluate long term retention. The student is provided feedback to identify areas of weakness.
4. Osteopathic Structured Clinical Performance Examination (OSCE) and standardized patient exams: These exams are given at end of OMS II and OMS III years. OSCEs and the simulated patient exams demonstrate the student’s ability to evaluate patients presenting with the most common disorders in the areas of:
Exams include signs and symptoms to form the most common differential, the most common
diagnostics to evaluate and narrow the differential, and the most common early management
scenarios. These are examples; the individual objectives, as described for each clinical
rotation, outline the possibilities within each discipline.
5. Formative Evaluation: Student competency based rating forms are used by the preceptor to evaluate each student as to their application of medical knowledge in the clinical setting. These forms are only completed by the clinical faculty member or preceptor. Performance on rotations will be evaluated by the precepting faculty. VCOM uses a competency based evaluation, which is based on the core competencies in each area. These include:
1) Medical knowledge;
2) Communication;
3) Physical exam skills;
4) Problem solving or clinical decision making;
5) Professionalism and ethics;
6) Osteopathic specific competencies; and
7) Additional VCOM values.
Student competency is judged on skills performance. Each skill is rated as to how often the
student performs the skill (i.e.: never or infrequently, some of the time but less than half the
time, greater than half the time, or the majority of the time, etc.).
Students who score less than a 2 overall will be required to repeat a rotation. In addition, repeated performance of a specific competency area—where many items performed in a specific category or across categories are rated as never, seldom, or scoring a 1–will be a reason for remediation at the discretion of the Associate Dean for Clinical Academic Affairs in consultation with the Clinical Chair, the preceptor, and the Promotion Board.
The required remediation will be based on the performance measure. In general, rotations
should show a progression of improvement in performance. Those students who continually
score in the 1 category or with an average of 2 consistently and do not improve over time may
be interpreted as not making academic progress and, as a result, will be referred to the
Promotion Board and possibly dismissal.
Clinical rotations with unsatisfactory performance will result in academic probation. Failure
to perform satisfactorily on two or more clinical rotations may result in a repeat of the
academic year or dismissal from the College. A Promotion Board will be called for this
decision process.
Poor ratings in the professional and ethical areas will result in a Behavioral Board or
Promotion Board depending on the severity of the measure. Poor ratings in this area must be
accompanied by comments as to the exact nature of the rating.
Staff, patients, and/or standardized patients with whom the student comes in contact may be
asked to evaluate the student’s communication and interpersonal skills. These evaluations are
primarily completed in the ambulatory and testing setting.
6. Documentation: Students are required to maintain a log to identify the procedures performed,
and the number of essential patient encounters. The faculty member will verify the
information at the end of the rotation either online using a password signature, or by signing
the log.
Evaluation begins the first week. Students are instructed to request to be informally evaluated
(“How am I doing?” “Are there things I should improve?”) at the end of each week in order to
address the areas to improve. This provides the student an opportunity to improve while on the
rotation and prevents being surprised by a poor evaluation at the end. Students bear the total
responsibility to seek this feedback.
It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all clinical evaluation forms are either completed
online or turned into the Clinical Affairs Office at the completion of each rotation. It is the
student's responsibility to expediently inform the Clinical Affairs Office of any difficulty in
obtaining an evaluation at the end of that rotation, not several months later.
The clinical affairs staff may assist the student in this process if a preceptor is negligent in
his/her responsibility by refusing to complete the evaluation form; however, the overall
responsibility to assure evaluations have occurred and to assure the form has been returned to the
College or site coordinator remains with the student. Students are responsible for setting up a
time for final evaluation during the final week of the rotation, requesting such a meeting at the
beginning of the final week of the rotation. At this meeting, students should supply the preceptor
with the evaluation form and an envelope addressed to the site coordinator.
It is VCOM policy that the student not leave the rotation without the evaluation being discussed
and signed by the preceptor. If a rotation form is not completed and turned into the site
coordinator or Director of Clinical Rotations within 90 days of the rotation, the rotation may be
considered as not performed or failed. Students should check with the site coordinators to assure
they have received the evaluation.
To become eligible for promotion from the first year to the second year, the student must have successfully completed all curricular blocks in year one.
To become eligible for promotion from the second year to the third year, the student must have
successfully completed all curricular blocks in year two, passed all OSCE, standardized patient
testing, and end of year exams. In addition, students must have taken COMLEX Level 1.
To become eligible for promotion from the third year to the fourth year, the student must
successfully complete all third year clinical rotations, passed all OSCE , standardized patient
testing, and end of rotation exams. Students must also take and pass end of third year exams and
COMLEX Level 1.
Fourth year students can refer to the Graduation Requirements section in this Handbook for
information about these requirements.
Students who are experiencing difficulty with VCOM’s curriculum may be placed into a combination curriculum/remediation program (altered program). As long as students are making satisfactory progress they will remain in a full-time status.
An immersion program, approved and monitored by VCOM, may be offered to students who are
having difficulty passing the COMLEX examinations. This program will last no more than 90
days and, while in this program, students will remain listed in a full-time status.
Students who are not making academic progress may be dismissed from VCOM.
IV b.5. Whether to require or suggest assessment for psychological/addiction problems. Such testing will be at the student’s expense.
IV c. For students who are considered at risk and failing to make academic progress or delayed in making academic progress through: one or more failed courses, multiple D grades requiring remediation totaling greater than 50% of the total contact hours in any block or cumulatively for that year, failure to remediate a D resulting in an F, failure to remediate a D in more than one course, or failure of two clinical rotations the Promotion Board may make one of the following recommendations:
IV c.1. Repeat of the failed course or courses with a D grade only, or
IV c.2 Repeat of an entire academic year, or
IV c.3. Recommend a program that will delay promotion until progress has been made through a delayed program or suspension.
IV d. Dismissal of the student may be recommended by the Promotion Board when the student demonstrates that he/she is unable to make academic progress. This includes:
IV.d.1. Multiple failing grades, more than one grade <65%.
IV.d.2. One failing grade <65%, or more than one grade within the D range in courses within the first block.
IV.d.3. Failing course grades, (one failing grade and a history of conditional grades within the D range) in two courses or greater, within one academic year.
IV.d.4. Multiple conditional grades where a student repeatedly receives conditional grades in many blocks and the Promotion Board determines the student is not achieving the expected academic progress.
IV.d.5. Failure of greater than two clinical rotations.
IV.d.6 Failure and evidence that demonstrate cumulatively that the student is not gaining the appropriate knowledge and/or qualifications to become an osteopathic physician.
V. All students who fail a course will be placed on academic probation. Students who have a D, or who have an incomplete or in progress grade will not be placed on academic probation except when more than one course is involved and the Promotion Board identifies that student to be significantly at risk or delayed in making academic progress (see IV b.).
VI. Following a Promotion Board meeting, the appropriate Associate Dean will present the Promotion Board’s recommendation to the Dean. The Dean will assure College policy has been followed. If policy has been followed, or pending legal counsel consultation, the Dean may choose to intervene or not to accept the Promotion Board’s recommendation.
VII. The appropriate Associate Dean will notify the student of the outcome of the Promotion Board meeting and any sanctions if applicable. Upon notification, the student may appeal the decision in writing to the Dean within seven calendar days of notification. The appeal should be based upon new and significant information. The Dean will normally reply in
writing within seven working days of receiving the appeal. In the case of an appeal, the Dean’s decision will be final.
Any student who has a failing grade in a course or rotation and/or has been recommended by the
Promotion Board will be placed on academic probation and will be so informed in writing by the
appropriate Associate Dean or the Dean. The purpose of academic probation is to alert the
student, faculty, and administration to the fact that the student has experienced difficulty and that
special consideration might need to be given such as counseling, tutorial assistance, special
scheduling, or other activities to help resolve academic deficiencies. The length of academic
probation and any requirements will be set through the operations of the Promotion Board.
The Promotion Board monitors the academic progress achieved by students throughout the
academic program. The Promotion Board meets at the end of any block in which a student has
achieved a failing grade, failed to successfully remediate a D grade resulting in an F, or when a
delay in a student’s academic progress is identified. The Dean or the appropriate Associate Dean
for the academic year involved may also call a meeting of the Promotion Board in cases where
the academic progress of a student is affected by leaves of absence or other similar factors.
Promotion Board meetings are not held for first time remediations resulting “in progress grade”
for one course.
The Promotion Board is composed of the following voting members: the Associate Dean for
Biomedical Academic Affairs, the Associate Dean for Clinical Academic Affairs, the Assistant
Vice President for Student Services, one primary care clinical faculty member, one specialty
clinical faculty member, and one biomedical faculty member. Faculty members are appointed by
the Dean. Non-voting members who attend are: the student class president as the student
representative, the Registrar, the Director of Clinical Rotations (when about a clinically related
failure), the Director of Financial Aid (on an “on-call” basis), the Course Director, and the
Assistant to the appropriate Associate Dean for the academic year involved who serves as the
secretary/recorder.
The responsibility of the Promotion Board is to assess academic progress of students toward an
osteopathic medicine degree.
I. Promotion Board is held at the end of each block, after all grades have been determined by the Associate Dean for Biomedical Academic Affairs. The Associate Dean for Biomedical Academic Affairs (or the Dean in the case of COMLEX) will notify the appropriate Associate Dean if a student has:
I a. Failed a course or rotation,
I b. Attempted and has failed to remediate a course resulting in an F.
I c. Has three or more D grades in any block.
I d. Has a received a D or an F grade while the student has an outstanding F grade in any block.
I e. Has failed COMLEX 1 and is not eligible to be promoted to the fourth year by the
end of the third year, OR has not taken COMLEX 1 in the time frame required, OR
has failed COMLEX 2 or PE and is not eligible to graduate.II. The appropriate Associate Dean will then convene the Promotion Board.
III. At a Promotion Board meeting, members/attendees have the following roles:
III a. The appropriate Associate Dean for the academic year involved will report on the academic progress of the student(s).
III b. The Associate Dean for Biomedical Academic Affairs will report on assistance that the student has received or been offered, including but not limited to tutoring or advising.
III c. The Assistant Vice President for Student Services will report on documentation that the Office of Student Services may have which may be relevant to the student’s academic progress.
III d. The Registrar will have the student’s entire academic record available (course evaluations, performance assessments and the student’s transcript) for the members to reference if needed.
Note on “IP” and “D” and “F” grades: A student who earned a “D” initially and is eligible to remediate the course will have the grade reported as In Progress (“IP”) on his/her transcript until remediation is attempted and a new grade is issued. The Registrar will report current “IP” grades to the appropriate Associate Dean at the time the “IP” is assigned. Once an “IP” grade has been officially changed to a letter grade on the transcript, the Registrar will not retain a record of “IP’ courses as part of the academic record. The appropriate Associate Dean, however, maintains a listing of previously satisfied D grades in courses and will report such to the Promotion Board for assessment of the student’s academic performance and progress.
Students who fail to remediate a “D” will have failed the course and receive an F. Students will also be given an F for any failed course. If a student is allowed to repeat a failed course, the F will remain on the transcript but will be replaced by a new grade (if remediated successfully). The word “repeat” will be reflected on the transcript.
The highest grade that can be given for a remediated course is 70%.
III e. The Course Director for the course(s) failed will be present at a Promotion Board meeting to explain course procedures, grading, and to clarify any remediation processes for that course only. He/she and the student representative will not vote and will be excused prior to deliberations.
IV. Following deliberations the Promotion Board may make the following recommendations to
the Dean:
IV.a. Award of a satisfactory grade (70%) and promotion to the next block.
IV.b. For students at risk for failing to make academic progress through multiple D grades which require remediation to achieve a passing grade (this may include students who have or have not previously been placed on academic probation) the Promotion Board may address any of the following in its recommendation.
IV b.1. Whether to require further coursework or to have the student repeat or satisfactorily perform additional clinical rotations.
IV b.2. Place, not place, or extend the student on academic probation.
IV b.3. Specify a timeline or manner in which remediation must occur.
IV b.4. Make a determination for dismissal procedures or repeat of academic year.
I. The Dean may call a meeting of the Promotion Board to determine placement of a student
who has taken an approved extended leave, or has been on suspension to determine where
the student will pick up in the curriculum and if “make-up” is needed.
II. The Dean or the appropriate Associate Dean may convene the Promotion Board to meet
about a student who has taken an unplanned leave, been brought before the Honor Council
or the Professional and Ethics Standards Board, or about a student who has been temporarily
suspended prior to a hearing to determine if there are issues related to academic progress. If
the student’s academic progress will be affected, the Promotion Board will make
appropriate recommendations to the Dean.
Recommendations for special meetings of the Promotion Board may include but are not limited
to those specified in IV.b. or IV.c. The Promotion Board will not make recommendations about
behavioral infractions but may refer the issue to the Honor Council or Professional and Ethics
Standards Board, if appropriate.
Special meetings of the Promotion Board will be chaired by the appropriate Associate Dean and
the role of voting and non-voting members will be the same as specified in item III. A course
director will not be present at the meeting but a representative of the Honor Council, Professional
and Ethics Standards Board or a similar representative may be invited to be in attendance to
clarify issues related to the specific case being discussed.
All requests for withdrawal must be made in writing to the office of the Assistant Vice President for Student Services and must follow the following steps:
The Dean, however, makes the final decision about withdrawals.
Students who discontinue their education at VCOM, for any reason, are required to complete an Change of Status Form.
1 To see the complete policy on withdrawal and disciplinary sanctions, please refer to the Policy/Procedure section
on VCOM’s website: http://intranet.vcom.vt.edu/clinical.
A medical leave of absence is granted to students who have an approved medical reason.
Medical leave may last no longer than six months. For students who are in good academic
standing, the Associate Deans will determine placement within the curriculum upon the student’s
return from the approved medical leave of absence.
A medical withdrawal is granted to students who have an approved medical reason that exceeds
six months. Students may apply for re-admission if granted a medical withdrawal. The
Admissions Committee will determine acceptance; the Associate Deans will determine
placement for all students who have withdrawn for medical purposes and are in good academic
standing. The Promotion Board must meet about all students who are not in good academic
standing.
Military withdrawal is granted to students whose military reserve obligations may require a
period of absence from the academic program when they are called to extended active duty.
Readmission is guaranteed pending proof of compliance with the minimal technical standards
and the Codes of Academic and Behavioral Conduct.
Personal withdrawal is granted to students who wish to voluntarily leave VCOM for personal
reasons. Students withdrawing from VCOM are not guaranteed re-admission.
The Dean makes the final determination of any involuntary withdrawal.
An administrative leave of absence is granted by the Dean. It is available for up to six months as deemed appropriate and necessary.
When accepted to a dual degree academic program (such as DO/MBA, DO/PhD), approved through VCOM administration, the student may be placed on an approved Educational Leave of Absence for up to one year.
Suspension is defined as a temporary separation from the institution. The duration of the suspension will be determined by the Dean and may include recommendations from the Promotion Board or the Professional Ethics Standards Board, or VCOM’s Honor Code Committee. Students may be assigned independent studies during suspension to remain current; however, these independent studies do not replace course attendance or rotation requirements. If the terms set out under the suspension are not fulfilled and the period of suspension is six months or greater, the student may be dismissed from VCOM.
Dismissal from VCOM, imposed solely by the Dean, results from recommendations made by the
Promotion Board, or the Professional and Ethics Standards Board, or other Dean decision.
Any student who ceases to maintain academic attendance in VCOM will be considered for an
involuntary withdrawal. For students who are maintaining academic attendance, VCOM will use
the grade of IP to ensure attendance is recorded.
Failure to complete an Change of Status Form and to obtain the proper signatures will result in a hold placed
on all academic records. Tuition refunds will be based upon the schedule shown under the
section on Refund Policy, either on the VCOM website at www.vcom.vt.edu or its College
Catalog. Failure to provide documentation in a timely manner could result in a guaranteed
readmission becoming void.
For any withdrawal—voluntary or involuntary—VCOM recognizes and follows the date of
determination as defined by the U.S. Department of Education in its Code of Federal
Regulations.
Students are required to successfully pass the National Board of Osteopathic Medical Examiners’
(NBOME) Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) Levels 1
and 2, including the COMLEX Level 2 Physical Examination (PE) component. COMLEX Level
1 must be taken by November of the third year and must be passed within five years of the date
of matriculation. COMLEX Level 1 must be passed to be promoted to the fourth year.
COMLEX Level 2 including the PE component must be passed within six years of the date of
matriculation and prior to graduation. Students who have passed all curricular requirements to be
promoted to the next year, but have not passed COMLEX may be placed on administrative leave.
Providing the student passes COMLEX within the five and six year restriction, as outlined
above, once the specific COMLEX is passed, students may resume their academic program.
Passing any portion of an examination is not a substitute for passing a course. If a student is in a
five year program (fellowship, etc.) or is in a combined degree program, the timeframe to pass
COMLEX may be extended accordingly by the Dean. Approval for any exceptions to any
portion of this policy must never be assumed and must be obtained in writing from the Dean in
advance.
Procedures for registering for both exams will be provided to students from the Office of the
Registrar or the student can access registration information by going to the NBOME’s website at:
www.nbome.com.
The degree of Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine is granted to and conferred upon candidates who:
1) Are of good moral, professional, and ethical character;
2) Have satisfied all academic requirements;
3) Have passed the COMLEX Levels 1 and 2 including the COMLEX PE component; and
4) Have settled all financial obligations with VCOM and its academic and clinical affiliates and collaborative partners.
To become eligible for graduation, each fourth-year student must have successfully completed
all fourth year academic requirements and must have passed the written COMLEX Level 2
including the COMLEX PE component.
Professional and ethical competence is required for graduation. Students must demonstrate the
ethical and professional qualities deemed necessary for success and continued study and practice
of osteopathic medicine; the suitability for the practice of medicine by dutiful and responsible
acceptance for patient care; and must demonstrate integrity in the conduct of clinical duties.
Students may be dismissed from VCOM if any of these competencies are not met. Please refer to
the Behavioral Policies and Procedures in this Handbook for more information.
A student must have completed all curricular requirements at VCOM, or a minimum of two
years at VCOM and another eligible institution which is accredited by the Commission on
Osteopathic College Accreditation (COCA) or Liaison Committee on Medical Education
(LCME), between the date of matriculation and graduation. In addition to this requirement, the
student must have been enrolled at VCOM during their final two years of education.
A VCOM student must complete to the satisfaction of faculty, as determined by the individual
course directors and clinical rotations supervisors and through the Promotion Board, all
prescribed courses and clinical experiences to graduate. The Dean makes the final determination
on any appeals from promotion board recommendations.
Students must meet with the Director of Financial Aid and Registrar to complete all required exit forms to receive a diploma. VCOM students must attend the commencement program to receive a diploma.