Weill Cornell Medical College Student Handbook Updated August 2021 WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Updated August 2021 Weill Cornell Medical College Student Handbook ** All policies in the Student Handbook are up to date as of August 12, 2021. For the most up-to-date details regarding WCMC policies, please visit: https://nexus.weill.cornell.edu/display/MECPOLICY/Medical+Education+Policies i WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Updated August 2021 Table of Contents About the Institution……………………………………………………......5 Emergencies, Safety, and Security………………………………………...11 Tuition and Fees…………………………………………………………...19 Opportunities and Employment…………………………………...21 Student Health……………………………………………………………..22 Student Mental Health Services………………………………..27 Privacy and Confidentiality……………………...……………..27 Needle Stick and Bodily Fluid Exposure Policy………….........28 Substance Use Screening & Counseling…………………………………..30 Student Health Insurance Plan…………………………………………….32 Student Disability Services………………………………………………..34 Parenting & Family Resources……………………………………………37 Academics…………………………………………………………….......38 Program Core Competencies and Constituent Learning Objectives.39 Required Courses in Curriculum………………...………………..41 Extended Curriculum for Research……………………………….43 Global Health Electives… ………………………………………..43 Clinical Course Add/Drop Policy………………………………...44 Course Materials and Copyright Issues…………………………..46 Transportation Guidelines and Policies…………………………..46 Course Directors………………………………………………….49 Clinical Activities………………………………………………………...51 i WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Updated August 2021 Dress Code for Medical Students (new)……………………………51 Student Course and Duty Hours Policy…………………………….51 Clinical Supervision Policy……………..……….............................53 Faculty Evaluator and Students as Patients Policy……………........55 Professionalism……………………………………………………………..56 Promotion and Graduation Standard and Procedures………………………65 Academic Advancement……………………………………………66 Student Assessment and Grades……………………………………69 Grade Reporting Time Frame………………………………69 Formative Feedback Policy...…………………….................70 Clinical Grade Reporting Guidelines……………………….70 Student Request for a Course Evaluation/Grade Review......72 Unsatisfactory Academic Performance in a Course……………......73 Criteria for Continuation in the Academic Program and Dismissal..76 Unsatisfactory Academic Progress Performance and Dismissal…...78 Administrative Hold………………………………………..79 Satisfactory Academic Progress and Financial Aid………..79 Involuntary Student Leave…………………………………79 Appeals Process……………………………………………………81 Technical Standards: Admission and Retention……………….......82 Attendance Standards……………………………………………...85 Leaves of Absence…………………………………………………99 Standards of Conduct……………………………………………..102 Substance Abuse Policy…………………………………………..104 ii WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Updated August 2021 Learning Environment…………………………………………………...108 Anti-Discrimination Policy………………………………………108 Sexual Harassment……………………………………………….109 Bias and Hate Related Crimes…………………………………....111 Academics & Advising…………………………………………………..113 Longitudinal Career Advising Policy……………………………113 Fourth Year Plan of Study and Career Advising Policy…………113 Medical School Performance Evaluation (MSPE) Policy ………114 Honors Designation……………………………………………...116 Academic Counseling and Student Academic Advising………...118 Student Records………………………………………………………….123 Process for Inspecting Records and Amendment of Records……124 Information Technology………………………………………………….126 Guidelines for Use of Computers, Network Systems and Electronic Communications…………………………………………………126 Maintaining Security of High Risk Data in Email……………… 126 IT Policies………………………………………………..............127 WCMC IT Security Policies…………………………………………………………..128 WCMC Confidential Data Policies…….……………………………….................................128 WCMC IT Operations Policies………………………………….128 Copyright Infringement…..…………………………..………….129 Academic Calendars…………………………………………………..…130 Libraries………………………………………………………………….135 Class Officers and Representatives & Student Organizations…………...140 iii WEILL CORNELL MEDICAL COLLEGE Updated August 2021 Student Group Governance………………………………………….…143 Directory………………………………………………………………..151 iv About the Institution Weill Cornell Medical College History An abiding focus on the science which shapes medical knowledge and patient care has been central at Weill Cornell since the school’s establishment in 1898. Cornell University President Jacob Gould Schurman, in his address at the Medical College’s opening ceremonies, set the tone for the decades to come. “What is needed for the training of physicians and surgeons today?” asked Schurman. “I answer, first, science; secondly, science; thirdly, science.” Delivered with a missionary’s fervor 105 years ago, these words remain notable not simply for the way they continue to affirm the emphasis placed by Medical College faculty on the scientific basis of medical training, but as an indication of how far the field has traveled in the last century, and how great a part Cornell University Medical College has played in that development. In 1898, the field of medicine was only beginning to stress a scientific foundation, and most medical schools in the United States were just starting to resemble medical schools as we know them today. Through most of the 19th century, many medical schools had lower entrance requirements than those of a good high school. Once admitted, a medical school student was taught exclusively by lecture, and had only to sit through two four-month terms before being given, automatically, an M.D. degree. Few medical students ever touched a patient or had any clinical experience prior to graduation. The founding of Cornell University Medical College coincided with a period of momentous change and strengthening of medical education in this country. Established and generously endowed through the gifts of Colonel Oliver H. Payne, Cornell University Medical College quickly became a national leader in medical instruction. One of Colonel Payne’s requirements was that the Medical College be a university medical school. Admitting men and women from the outset, Cornell was also one of the country’s first coeducational medical schools. Cornell’s original faculty, highly regarded as both scientists and teachers, recognized a broad liberal education as a prerequisite for a successful medical education. Although Cornell University was founded and continues to flourish in Ithaca, New York, the University’s Medical College was established in New York City to provide its students with opportunities for clinical learning and laboratory-oriented instruction that were rare at the time. This clinical focus remains central to the Weill Cornell experience. As the scientific pursuit of medicine gained prominence, a new kind of institution arose — the partnership of university and hospital in an academic medical center. The Medical College and The New York Hospital first signed a limited affiliation agreement in 1913; formal affiliation in 1927 joined the facilities of the two institutions. Hospital and college were brought to one location in 1932 with the opening of The New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, physically confirming the fundamental integration underpinning the academic medical center and its triple mission of education, research, and patient care. 5 Now at the heart of a world-renowned center of medical education, biomedical research, and health care, Weill Cornell Medical College remains committed to the advancement of medical knowledge through work done by faculty and students alike. As a pioneer in the early 1950’s in developing the concept of comprehensive care for patients as well, Weill Cornell investigated and refined the effective matching of patient needs with medical and community resources, through its Comprehensive Care and Teaching Program. While the formal program ended in the 1960’s, the precepts of comprehensive patient care learned from the undertaking continue to be applied. The New York Hospital merged with the Presbyterian Hospital in 1997, and the new entity is known as NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. However, the medical schools of Weill Cornell and Columbia remain independent entities. The Medical College itself changed its name on April 23, 1998. The new designation, “The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University,” was approved by the Board of Trustees of Cornell University in recognition of the Weill’s many years of dedicated service to Cornell and, particularly, to the Medical College. As a result of the merger and name change described above, the academic medical center (formerly New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center) is now known as NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/ Weill Cornell Medical Center. In 2001, the Medical College and Cornell University in partnership with Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development signed an agreement to establish Weill Cornell Medical College-Qatar, the first medical school in Qatar. In 2015, the Medical College was re-named Weill Cornell Medicine to reflect its broader mission in research and patient care, in addition to educating future physicians. In 2019, with gifts from the Starr Foundation and Board of Overseer Chairman Emeritus Sanford I Weill, the Medical College announced that it would make the cost of attendance free for all students who qualify for financial aid. In 2020, the Medical College continued its operations despite the tremendous challenges presented by the worldwide COVID-19