Most Recent Updates
Email Regarding Volunteering with Medical Reserve Corp (3/26/2020)
Hi everyone,
As this pandemic grows in Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health is in desperate need for volunteers with clinical backgrounds for the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) to staff their COVID-19 call centers and with contact-tracing. This will be a great opportunity to help our fellow Virginians through this crisis. You do not need to be in Richmond to participate as they have centers throughout Virginia.
Please follow these steps if you are interested:
1) Everyone can register for the MRC here (<15 min): https://vvhs.vamrc.org/?action=volunteers.overview. Do NOT wait on this - it takes time to verify people.
The MRC will do everything in its capacity to avoid exposing its volunteers to the potential of getting COVID-19. Please note that this experience is purely voluntary. The School of Medicine encourages you to help out your community in your best capacity but, per AAMC guidelines, cannot compensate you (ie with academic credit) for volunteering.
2) If you staying in the Richmond area and interested in helping out the MRC, fill out this quick form: https://forms.gle/KViRKeuGhBivZwqJ7. This will allow us to gauge the number of volunteers from VCU SoM and for us to collaborate with the Richmond/Henrico MRC on projects of larger scale.
3) Safety first! Please note that everyone comes from different situations and so please use your best judgement when volunteering in the community.
Thanks everyone! Please reach out to either of us if you have any questions.
Alvin Chang, MSG President, changaj@mymail.vcu.edu
Chuck Siegel, MSG VP of Community Service, siegelc2@mymail.vcu.edu
Hi everyone,
As this pandemic grows in Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health is in desperate need for volunteers with clinical backgrounds for the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) to staff their COVID-19 call centers and with contact-tracing. This will be a great opportunity to help our fellow Virginians through this crisis. You do not need to be in Richmond to participate as they have centers throughout Virginia.
Please follow these steps if you are interested:
1) Everyone can register for the MRC here (<15 min): https://vvhs.vamrc.org/?action=volunteers.overview. Do NOT wait on this - it takes time to verify people.
The MRC will do everything in its capacity to avoid exposing its volunteers to the potential of getting COVID-19. Please note that this experience is purely voluntary. The School of Medicine encourages you to help out your community in your best capacity but, per AAMC guidelines, cannot compensate you (ie with academic credit) for volunteering.
2) If you staying in the Richmond area and interested in helping out the MRC, fill out this quick form: https://forms.gle/KViRKeuGhBivZwqJ7. This will allow us to gauge the number of volunteers from VCU SoM and for us to collaborate with the Richmond/Henrico MRC on projects of larger scale.
3) Safety first! Please note that everyone comes from different situations and so please use your best judgement when volunteering in the community.
Thanks everyone! Please reach out to either of us if you have any questions.
Alvin Chang, MSG President, changaj@mymail.vcu.edu
Chuck Siegel, MSG VP of Community Service, siegelc2@mymail.vcu.edu
Email from Dr. Woleben for Important Updates for Curriculum and Student Life Updates: (3/17/2020)
I know that the past few days have been frustrating and challenging to all of us as we find our new norm as a result of COVID-19 on today’s society. I wanted to provide you with some updates regarding your medical education and student life.
Clinical Education:
Based on the attached “Guidance on Student Clinical Participation” from medical education leaders at the AAMC, ALL medical schools across the United States have been advised to stop ALL clinical experiences until at least March 31, if not longer, due to the lack of necessary Personal Protective Equipment to keep patients, staff, and learners safe in the clinical environment. We are participating in national and local discussions to find alternative ways to keep our students engaged during this pause in clinical activities. We have no idea how long this pause in clinical activities will last … but remember that this pause affects not only you and your classmates, but all other medical students across the country. You will all be in similar territory when it comes to rescheduling clerkships, USMLE exams, away rotations, acting internships, and other clinical experiences. In addition, we have been in contact with the LCME regarding anticipated changes in the clinical experience. We have been impressed with their willingness to accommodate changes and respond in an incredibly timely manner.
It is our goal to maintain the integrity of our curriculum while doing our best to have every student meet graduation requirements on time in a safe and supportive clinical learning environment. We will prioritize our students graduating in May to ensure they are able to complete required Acting Internship experiences while providing alternative educational activities for those fourth year students currently enrolled in other clinical electives. So much of this will depend on when students are safely allowed to return to the clinical learning environment based on advice from national medical education leaders and local public health experts. Here are some specific updates as to how this currently affects each class:
Class of 2023:
First, congratulations on completing your first remote-access exam today! We are all coming up-to-speed on providing educational resources to you using remote/virtual technology, and I am sure there will be some bumps in the road along the way. Dr. Biskobing and Dr. Brinegar will continue to update you regarding course sessions in the days and weeks to come. PCM faculty are working to come up with alternative methods to allow you to practice physical exam skills at a time when it is safe to have students back on campus and use standardized patients. We will do our best to deliver course content to you using excellent remote/virtual technology experiences, getting you back on campus for small group activities when it is safe to do so.
Class of 2022:
Many of you have now taken Step 1 and are awaiting on your results, and I know you were excitedly waiting for the start of the M3 year. We have made the difficult decision to postpone the start of your M3 year by four weeks. At the present time, your Transition to Clerkship course will start on 4/27/2020, and your first clerkship will start on 5/4/2020. Our goal is to basically “press the reset button” and have your clerkships start one month later using your existing lottery results. Please note that this plan is subject to change depending on how COVID-19 progresses in our community. I have received many questions from you about whether or not you should be travelling to Richmond at this time … I do not have good advice to provide here other than stating that we will continue to keep in touch with you about any anticipated changes to these dates, and we will be as flexible as possible if travel restrictions prevent you from returning to Richmond on time.
Class of 2021:
We are hosting an ad hoc Curriculum Council meeting later this week with all clerkship directors in attendance to brainstorm ideas to allow students to continue forward progression in their current clerkships without being physically present in the clinical environment. We recognize that some of you have deferred clerkships to make up, and many of you hope to complete away rotations and acting internships required by your specialties. You may have noticed that in addition to the Step 2CS testing centers being closed until 4/13/2020, it was announced today that all Prometric Testing Centers will be closed until 4/16/2020. We are fortunate to have an extended 4th year here with flexible clinical/non-clinical elective time. We will do our best to make sure everyone gets requirements completed on time for a successful residency application. We will be extremely flexible with deadlines for completion of USMLE exams. Many specialty groups have already sent out guidance that they will be relaxing typical expectations for successful applicants in their field – for example, Emergency Medicine program directors are reconsidering the need for away rotations and a second Standardized Letter of Evaluation deemed necessary for EM applicants in previous application cycles. We will keep you updated as more details emerge on your current clerkship experiences and M4 scheduling.
Class of 2020:
We have decided to reverse our initial decision to allow M4 students to “opt-in” to clinical experiences based on the latest AAMC guidance. Effective 3/17/2020, no students will be allowed to participate in clinical experiences for the foreseeable future. We are investigating alternative means for any student who still needs to complete an Acting Internship to use remote/virtual educational experiences to complete these clinical requirements and graduate on time. Depending on when students are allowed back on campus in small groups, we will be announcing any revisions to the Capstone course and bootcamp experiences once details are confirmed.
Student Life:
Starting tomorrow, many staff members from the Curriculum and Student Affairs office will be working from home – every staff member will have access to a phone, computer and reliable internet service in order to maintain their current job functions remotely. Additionally, there will always be several staff members present in the office during regular business hours unless we are directed to do otherwise by the university. Students are still welcome to come to campus to study and use internet in MMEC, but please avoid all clinical care areas on campus as the health system is restricting people in these areas as much as possible.
As always, I have been impressed with the gestures of support for your local community that many of you have suggested. I Know Dr. Helou is currently working with the Pediatric Interest Group to solicit volunteers to assist with childcare for residents and other clinical staff – similar efforts have been initiated with students on the Inova campus. Many of you have asked for ways to assist with patient care in roles such as triage, phone follow-up and scribing, etc. – when and if VCU Health leaders find ways to have volunteers involved in the COVID-19 response, we will pass these opportunities along to you. Finally, many students have been participating in blood drives due to the anticipated critical shortage of blood products – if you are interested, please visit the following website to schedule an appointment to donate: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=VCUHealth
Giving back to your local community can certainly help give us all a sense of purpose in these uncertain times. If you are feeling overwhelmed, University Counseling Services is available to provide support by phone for any student needing a little extra help. Students are encouraged to call University Counseling Services at (804) 828-6200 between 8:00am-4:30pm M-F. If they are experiencing a mental health crisis after business hour they can still reach the on-call crisis clinician by contacting the VCU police at (804) 828-1234.
I appreciate in advance your patience and understanding as we are making significant changes to your curriculum – the decisions we make are based on guidance from professional organizations dedicated to maintaining medical education during this crisis. I am confident we can all pull together and get through this pandemic – it may even bring us all closer together as a community as a result. I will continue to provide interval updates over the days and weeks to come. As always, please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
I know that the past few days have been frustrating and challenging to all of us as we find our new norm as a result of COVID-19 on today’s society. I wanted to provide you with some updates regarding your medical education and student life.
Clinical Education:
Based on the attached “Guidance on Student Clinical Participation” from medical education leaders at the AAMC, ALL medical schools across the United States have been advised to stop ALL clinical experiences until at least March 31, if not longer, due to the lack of necessary Personal Protective Equipment to keep patients, staff, and learners safe in the clinical environment. We are participating in national and local discussions to find alternative ways to keep our students engaged during this pause in clinical activities. We have no idea how long this pause in clinical activities will last … but remember that this pause affects not only you and your classmates, but all other medical students across the country. You will all be in similar territory when it comes to rescheduling clerkships, USMLE exams, away rotations, acting internships, and other clinical experiences. In addition, we have been in contact with the LCME regarding anticipated changes in the clinical experience. We have been impressed with their willingness to accommodate changes and respond in an incredibly timely manner.
It is our goal to maintain the integrity of our curriculum while doing our best to have every student meet graduation requirements on time in a safe and supportive clinical learning environment. We will prioritize our students graduating in May to ensure they are able to complete required Acting Internship experiences while providing alternative educational activities for those fourth year students currently enrolled in other clinical electives. So much of this will depend on when students are safely allowed to return to the clinical learning environment based on advice from national medical education leaders and local public health experts. Here are some specific updates as to how this currently affects each class:
Class of 2023:
First, congratulations on completing your first remote-access exam today! We are all coming up-to-speed on providing educational resources to you using remote/virtual technology, and I am sure there will be some bumps in the road along the way. Dr. Biskobing and Dr. Brinegar will continue to update you regarding course sessions in the days and weeks to come. PCM faculty are working to come up with alternative methods to allow you to practice physical exam skills at a time when it is safe to have students back on campus and use standardized patients. We will do our best to deliver course content to you using excellent remote/virtual technology experiences, getting you back on campus for small group activities when it is safe to do so.
Class of 2022:
Many of you have now taken Step 1 and are awaiting on your results, and I know you were excitedly waiting for the start of the M3 year. We have made the difficult decision to postpone the start of your M3 year by four weeks. At the present time, your Transition to Clerkship course will start on 4/27/2020, and your first clerkship will start on 5/4/2020. Our goal is to basically “press the reset button” and have your clerkships start one month later using your existing lottery results. Please note that this plan is subject to change depending on how COVID-19 progresses in our community. I have received many questions from you about whether or not you should be travelling to Richmond at this time … I do not have good advice to provide here other than stating that we will continue to keep in touch with you about any anticipated changes to these dates, and we will be as flexible as possible if travel restrictions prevent you from returning to Richmond on time.
Class of 2021:
We are hosting an ad hoc Curriculum Council meeting later this week with all clerkship directors in attendance to brainstorm ideas to allow students to continue forward progression in their current clerkships without being physically present in the clinical environment. We recognize that some of you have deferred clerkships to make up, and many of you hope to complete away rotations and acting internships required by your specialties. You may have noticed that in addition to the Step 2CS testing centers being closed until 4/13/2020, it was announced today that all Prometric Testing Centers will be closed until 4/16/2020. We are fortunate to have an extended 4th year here with flexible clinical/non-clinical elective time. We will do our best to make sure everyone gets requirements completed on time for a successful residency application. We will be extremely flexible with deadlines for completion of USMLE exams. Many specialty groups have already sent out guidance that they will be relaxing typical expectations for successful applicants in their field – for example, Emergency Medicine program directors are reconsidering the need for away rotations and a second Standardized Letter of Evaluation deemed necessary for EM applicants in previous application cycles. We will keep you updated as more details emerge on your current clerkship experiences and M4 scheduling.
Class of 2020:
We have decided to reverse our initial decision to allow M4 students to “opt-in” to clinical experiences based on the latest AAMC guidance. Effective 3/17/2020, no students will be allowed to participate in clinical experiences for the foreseeable future. We are investigating alternative means for any student who still needs to complete an Acting Internship to use remote/virtual educational experiences to complete these clinical requirements and graduate on time. Depending on when students are allowed back on campus in small groups, we will be announcing any revisions to the Capstone course and bootcamp experiences once details are confirmed.
Student Life:
Starting tomorrow, many staff members from the Curriculum and Student Affairs office will be working from home – every staff member will have access to a phone, computer and reliable internet service in order to maintain their current job functions remotely. Additionally, there will always be several staff members present in the office during regular business hours unless we are directed to do otherwise by the university. Students are still welcome to come to campus to study and use internet in MMEC, but please avoid all clinical care areas on campus as the health system is restricting people in these areas as much as possible.
As always, I have been impressed with the gestures of support for your local community that many of you have suggested. I Know Dr. Helou is currently working with the Pediatric Interest Group to solicit volunteers to assist with childcare for residents and other clinical staff – similar efforts have been initiated with students on the Inova campus. Many of you have asked for ways to assist with patient care in roles such as triage, phone follow-up and scribing, etc. – when and if VCU Health leaders find ways to have volunteers involved in the COVID-19 response, we will pass these opportunities along to you. Finally, many students have been participating in blood drives due to the anticipated critical shortage of blood products – if you are interested, please visit the following website to schedule an appointment to donate: https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=VCUHealth
Giving back to your local community can certainly help give us all a sense of purpose in these uncertain times. If you are feeling overwhelmed, University Counseling Services is available to provide support by phone for any student needing a little extra help. Students are encouraged to call University Counseling Services at (804) 828-6200 between 8:00am-4:30pm M-F. If they are experiencing a mental health crisis after business hour they can still reach the on-call crisis clinician by contacting the VCU police at (804) 828-1234.
I appreciate in advance your patience and understanding as we are making significant changes to your curriculum – the decisions we make are based on guidance from professional organizations dedicated to maintaining medical education during this crisis. I am confident we can all pull together and get through this pandemic – it may even bring us all closer together as a community as a result. I will continue to provide interval updates over the days and weeks to come. As always, please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or concerns.
Current Status (as of 3/17 AM)
All classes: Any school-sponsored or related travel out of state or internationally suspended until further notice (this includes away rotations, Step 2 CK/CS). Student Honors Day on 3/27/2020 will instead have all awardees recognized in a communication on that day. All course content will be delivered remotely beginning March 16, and no face-to-face learning experiences or assessments will be offered until further notice.
Class of 2020: Match Day -- results to be sent by email; can pick up original match letter at curriculum office. Students may NO LONGER "opt-in" to to clinical experiences, and the curriculum office are exploring possible alternative means for students who have AI requirements for graduation requirements.
Class of 2021: Clinical experiences cancelled as of 3/15/2020. VCU MCV will be extremely flexible with deadlines for completion of USMLE exams. More updates to come as soon as the administration knows more.
Step 2 CS testing centers closed until 4/13/2020, Step 2 CK testing centers (Prometric Testing Centers) closed until 4/16/2020.
Class of 2022: Transitions to Clerkship schedule will be delivered remotely and delayed to 4/27/2020. The first clerkship will start on 5/4/2020, using existing lottery results, but note that this plan is subject to change pending on how COVID-19 progresses in our community.
Class of 2023: As of 3/16/2020 all course content will be delivered remotely. The Senior Mentoring Program will be conducted by phone or video chat (no in-person visits). All remaining Neurocognitive and Functional Assessment Experience sessions are cancelled, and affected students will have a make up assignment. All spring semester House Calls Experience are cancelled.
Class of 2020: Match Day -- results to be sent by email; can pick up original match letter at curriculum office. Students may NO LONGER "opt-in" to to clinical experiences, and the curriculum office are exploring possible alternative means for students who have AI requirements for graduation requirements.
Class of 2021: Clinical experiences cancelled as of 3/15/2020. VCU MCV will be extremely flexible with deadlines for completion of USMLE exams. More updates to come as soon as the administration knows more.
Step 2 CS testing centers closed until 4/13/2020, Step 2 CK testing centers (Prometric Testing Centers) closed until 4/16/2020.
Class of 2022: Transitions to Clerkship schedule will be delivered remotely and delayed to 4/27/2020. The first clerkship will start on 5/4/2020, using existing lottery results, but note that this plan is subject to change pending on how COVID-19 progresses in our community.
Class of 2023: As of 3/16/2020 all course content will be delivered remotely. The Senior Mentoring Program will be conducted by phone or video chat (no in-person visits). All remaining Neurocognitive and Functional Assessment Experience sessions are cancelled, and affected students will have a make up assignment. All spring semester House Calls Experience are cancelled.
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Volunteer Opportunities
Sign-Up for VCU Childcare Co-Op
The Pediatric Interest Group is coordinating provision of childcare to VCU Health residents and staff - they have a designated GroupMe group chat called "VCU Childcare Co-op" where we will dispense all the information! Please email vcuchildcarecoop@gmail.com with your NAME & PHONE NUMBER so you can be added to the group chat if you are interested in volunteering. As we hear of other volunteer opportunities for medical students, we will make sure to pass them along to you. |