Personal Days for Wellness during Clerkship (Year 3) 

• Personal days for wellness offer an opportunity for third-year medical students to prioritize activities that support wellness and practice self care.  During Year 3, a personal day for wellness excused absence may be granted once per clerkship as one of the two allowable excused absences. Primary Care-Population Medicine students may be granted one personal day for wellness per clinic. 

• During Internal Medicine Clerkships students will be allowed two personal days for wellness. 

• For required clerkships, students should submit an excused absence request for a “personal day” on the Canvas website. 

• This excused absence does not require any additional documentation.  

• Both to maximize learning and to help with planning, approval should be requested as far in advance as possible. 

• Personal days will not be granted for the day before a clerkship exam or OSCE.

• Personal days can not be used for clerkship orientation

• Personal days may not be used for exam extension. 

• Personal days are not considered accommodations and don't require additional documentation.

• If granted an excused absence, the Associate Dean for Medical Education will notify the clerkship director and coordinator.

Golden Ticket Policy 

• "Golden Ticket" policy for IMS I-IV has been modified so that students will have one Golden Ticket per semester, effective January 2, 2023.  Students may have a single unexcused absence in each semester of Year 1 and 2 without incurring the usual penalty for an unexcused absence. The full Golden Ticket policy is listed under the "pre-existing policies" tab.

Space for virtual/private meetings during clerkship (Year 3)

• If you need a private space for a short appointment during your clerkship while at Rhode Island Hospital:

• Peters Library - Aldrich Building

  • Phone: 401-444-5450 

  • Internal Webpage

  • Hours: doors open from 7:30am - 4pm M-F, 24/7 access with badge

  • Conference room 

    1. Available by reservation only on a first come first serve basis

    2. Contact Library@lifespan.org

• Your clerkship directors and coordinators can direct you to specific spaces at your site.

Wellness Assessment

• A global assessment of wellness for all medical students.  This assessment will occur during scheduled time.  The results will allow students to understand their individual wellness, and will aid administration in addressing the global wellness needs of the medical student community.

Wellness and Learning Environment Rounds**

• The Chief Wellness Officer (CWO) and Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Learning Environment (ADSA-LE), Dr. Rory Merritt, who are tasked with implementing programming across all four years of student training, have launched a new collaborative endeavor to synergistically meet this mission: Wellness and Learning Environment Rounds. This collaboration integrates the work these offices are doing separately to aid with improving student wellness and informing meaningful change within the environment. 

* As of Spring 2022 unless noted otherwise.

** To come

Pre-Clerkship Workload Policy

• Pre-Clerkship required activities are limited to the hours between 9am and 5pm with rare exceptions that must be approved by the Medical Curriculum Committee (MCC).

• Required activities should be no more than 20 hours per week with the exception of Orientation week.

• 15 hours/week of unscheduled time; 20 hours averaged across the block of unscheduled time.

“Golden Ticket” for IMS I-IV

• Golden Ticket" policy for IMS I-IV has been modified so that students will have one Golden Ticket per semester, effective January 2, 2023. Due to the absence, students will still be required to complete the necessary makeup work. Below is the policy with information about when and how students can use this option. 

  • Once during each semester of Years 1 and 2 of medical school, students are permitted to request a single exemption to the policy on excused absences. Known as the “Golden Ticket” policy, students may have a single unexcused absence in each semester of Year 1 and 2 without incurring the usual penalty for an unexcused absence (A “Golden Ticket” absence does not contribute towards a potential NC in a course or towards a professionalism report). “Golden Tickets” are applicable to IMS courses only (not Doctoring or PC-PM courses), and the policy does not apply to exams, exam extension/rescheduling requests, or wet laboratories. For example, you cannot use your Golden Ticket in order to miss a scheduled exam, or as a means to request an exam extension. Students who wish to utilize their Golden Ticket exemption must follow the procedures outlined in "How to Obtain an Excused Absence" in the Medical School Handbook.

  • “Golden Tickets” are applicable to IMS courses only (not Doctoring or PC-PM courses), and the policy does not apply to exams or exam extension/rescheduling requests.

    • For example, you cannot use your Golden Ticket in order to miss a scheduled exam, or as a means to request an exam extension.

    • Students who wish to utilize their Golden Ticket exemption must follow the procedures outlined within the student handbook on How to Obtain an Excused Absence.

* Policies were instituted before 2021