General Information for Students

Book Expenses

Outside of certain college expenses, where cost is "fixed," the most expensive single item that students face is the purchase of books - required or recommended. Here are guidelines which you may wish to follow as you purchase textbooks:

Do not buy any text until the instructor has been consulted or has held a class. The bookstore usually has enough of the required textbooks.
Consider buying used textbooks from bulletin board notices or the MSEC book sale at the beginning of each semester.
Consult upperclassmen for advice on textbooks and about the possibility of borrowing/buying their books.

Class Attendance

The instructional program has been developed by the faculty to provide students with the background in biomedical sciences necessary for the study of clinical medicine. Students are expected to attend the various curricular experiences designed and provided for them as an expression of their professional commitment and dedication. Some curricular experiences, because of their special nature (e.g. laboratories, small group conferences, and related activities), may be designated by faculty as required experiences. Attendance is required unless a student is specifically excused by the course director. Students will be informed of these requirements at the beginning of a course.

CPR Classes

Required for ALL College of Medicine Students

It is a requirement of the UTHSC, College of Medicine that you be BLS certified during your first year in medical school. If you are currently certified, proof of the certification needs to be given to the Office of Medical Education by the end of January of your first year. Please clear copies to Kimberlee Norwood, knorwood@uthsc.edu.

For those not certified, please follow the HeartCode Instructions (BLS training) to set up your Healthstream account. Your class will be batch enrolled and issued licenses and an email sent to let you know you may begin training. The first part of the training is online and the skills checkoff you will complete at a kiosks which have 24/7 access. All necessary resources are paid for by the College of Medicine, however, you have 60 days from the issue of the license to complete this task. If not completed within the 60 days, the student will have to pay $65 to have a second license issued. The Simulation Center will furnish a list of those students who completed their course to the Office of Medical Education. All first year medical students MUST be BLS certified by the end of January of their first year.

All M3s will be recertified during the Preparation to Clerkship week. This will provide you with the opportunity to update your BLS certification, thus enabling you to take ACLS in your M4 year in Capstone.

Criminal Background Check

The UT Health Science Center requires all matriculating students to undergo a Criminal Background Check (CBC) to enhance patient safety and protection. This requirement was established by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) and endorsed by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC). In accordance with these requirements, each student must be able to assure hospitals and clinical sites that he or she has been cleared through the CBC. The CBC must be completed no later than July 30, prior to matriculation.

Criminal Background Check Instructions

Dress and Identification

All students in their preclinical and clinical years of study are expected to dress as professional students. Recognizing the need to identify members of the professional medical team and to distinguish them from other hospital personnel or patients, they must wear clinic coats of a type described below while in patient contact situations:

Attending staff wear coats of their choice.
Interns and resident staff are expected to wear coat length, long sleeve clinic coats, generally white; however, color variations may be uniformly adopted by any department.
Medical students wear white long sleeve jacket length coats and display their ID card at all times.

Students interested in access to various buildings after business hours may be required to present identification cards for access and to display them while on the premises (Refer to ID cards in this section).

Employment

The College of Medicine supports the view that a successful medical school experience requires a full-time commitment on the part of most students. Medical students' primary responsibility must be to scholarship and to their academic pursuits. The College of Medicine recognizes that financing the cost of medical training may require, under very compelling circumstances, that some medical students seek employment during the academic year.

Any student considering employment is encouraged to contact voluntarily the College of Medicine through its Office of Student Affairs to seek counseling on:

alternative employment options, especially those which promote further professional growth and development,
the impact that employment would have on his/her academic performance, and
the availability of other sources of income.

Under no circumstances should the nature of the students' work experience misrepresent the level of his/her professional skill or knowledge, or require a level of time commitment which could adversely affect academic performance. It should be clearly understood that the minimal standards for progress and promotion must be met by all students regardless of employment.

Housing

Off Campus - Knoxville and Chattanooga

Many junior and senior students choose to take rotations on the Knoxville or Chattanooga campuses. The following persons can provide assistance relative to these campuses:

Brittany Bracco, 1924 Alcoa Highway, Knoxville, TN 37920 (865) 305-9618, bbracco@utmck.edu
Tiffany Nabors, 960 East Third St., Chattanooga, TN 37403 (423) 778-7442, MSE@erlanger.org tiffany.nabors@erlanger.org

Housing On Campus - Memphis

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center no longer offers on-campus student housing. Information about Memphis off campus housing.

Housing in Fraternities

Phi Chi, 687 Jefferson Avenue, Memphis, Tennessee 38105

The Phi Chi Fraternity House houses 28 persons and is two blocks from the Wassell Randolph Student-Alumni Center. The house is completely furnished with central heat and air, washer, dryer, color TV, table tennis, and a kitchen where students may prepare meals and snacks. Nonmembers are welcomed.

Instrument List

Required Diagnostic Equipment

It is difficult to develop your skills without ready access to necessary instruments. (Imagine trying to learn how to play tennis without access to a racket except during lessons.) Therefore, you should obtain the following instruments to use during your Principles of Clinical Medicine Course (see specific recommendations in the subsequent section):

A suitable stethoscope with both adult and pediatric diaphragms and a bell
A pocket penlight
A watch
An aneroid sphygmomanometer
An otoscope/ophthalmoscope kit
A reflex hammer
A pocket (Rosenbaum) eye card
128 Hz and 512 Hz tuning forks

Cost-saving advice for equipment purchases

Stethoscopes should be high quality, comparable to a Littmann Classic III model. You will also need a pocket penlight, and a watch. Smartphones should not be used for these functions. If you do not have a watch or do not like to wear one on your wrist, consider inexpensive models designed to clip onto a stethoscope, like this. We also recommend the purchase of an inexpensive aneroid blood pressure cuff like this for practice and casual use.

We suggest you obtain both an otoscope and an ophthalmoscope. (Many systemic diseases affect the eye and ophthalmoscopy is a useful skill for generalists and some specialists, not just ophthalmologists.) Purchase of an ophthalmoscope can be deferred until the neurological exam block during the spring semester of the second year. Alternatively, you may want to purchase an otoscope and ophthalmoscope together as a set.

You do not need expensive otoscope and ophthalmoscope models for skills practice. Look for a basic full-size set like this. It is not necessary to purchase more expensive premium brands like Welch-Allyn at this stage in your training. American Diagnostic Corporation (ADC), Bock, and Reister are solid second-tier brands. Do not purchase sets that include unnecessary attachments and do NOT buy a Panoptiscope (they are very expensive and unnecessary).

You can save money on your purchase by dividing the cost with one or more classmates and sharing the instruments. (You can recoup much of the cost by later selling them to rising students). Be sure you clean the instruments between uses and dispose of used speculae.

Used instruments are another costsaving option. Just be sure you find a clean, quality instrument in suitable condition for your needs and that bulbs, batteries, and speculae are still available.

A pocket ophthalmoscope is often less expensive than a full-size model. Pocket ophthalmoscopes are initially harder to learn on than full-size models. However, once you become proficient with them, you may get more use out of a pocket model that stays in your white coat. Once you get to clerkships, you will find that otoscopes and ophthalmoscopes are usually available in most outpatient exam rooms but not in the hospital.

We also recommend that you purchase a reflex hammer, pocket (Rosenbaum) eye chart, 512 Hz and 128 Hz tuning forks. These instruments will provide opportunities to practice neurological exams during clerkships. The composite cost for these four items is about $40 at the time of this posting.

One final suggestion: label your stethoscope and other instruments so they can be returned to you when - not if - you misplace them!

Leave of Absence

Leaves of absence are granted to students by the Dean of the College of Medicine when personal or health-related reasons so warrant. Any student desiring a leave, or who is considering a leave, should contact the Office of Medical Education.

Loans

Emergency loans are available to medical students through the Office of Financial Aid. Students may borrow up to $600.00. EM loans must be repaid within 60 days after receipt with payment or a late fee of $30.00 will be charged. All previous EM loans must be repaid before another can be issued. Loans are based on need and availability of funds. For additional loan information.

Students experiencing financial difficulty are also encouraged to contact the Office of Financial Aid Services,910 Madison Avenue #520, 901-448-5568

ID Cards

Medical student name badges are to be worn at all times. ID cards will be provided during orientation. Lost ID cards must be reported to the Campus Police ID office (3 North Dunlap Street, 448-6705) so that the appropriate notices can be posted and cards deprogrammed from the card reader system. Oral reports of lost ID’s will be followed up with a written report within five (5) duty days of the loss outlining circumstances of loss and recovery efforts. Lost ID’s will be replaced at a cost by Campus Police.

Student Records

A student's official or permanent record pertains to academic progress, promotion and graduation, and is maintained in the Office of the Registrar. When appropriate, disciplinary action is noted on the official transcript in accord with the policy recommended by the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the American Personnel Association, National Association of Women Deans and Counselors, and National Association of Student Personnel Administrators. These agencies recommend:

"That the official education record (permanent records) should contain all entries of disciplinary actions which suspend or dismiss the student or restrict, limit, or condition the student's eligibility to return or reregister in the college. In such cases, the educational record should indicate clearly action taken as disciplinary in contrast with academic dismissal or suspension. The records do not indicate the nature of the behavior which occasioned disciplinary action. Except in the case of error or injustice, no entry on the official records should be physically removed."

Academic, health, and disciplinary records are kept separately. Confidential records of all misconduct reports, investigations, and disciplinary actions are kept in the UT Memphis Student Affairs Office. Medical records are maintained by the University Health Service, and financial aid records are maintained in The Office of Financial Aid. The Office of Student Affairs for the College of Medicine maintains a working file on each student which contains academic and personal information.

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center is in compliance with all provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, which provides enrolled students and former students the right to review the contents of certain student records which are maintained by the University. Students have the right of access to their permanent record maintained in the Registrar's Office, and to review the working file maintained in the College of Medicine Office of Student Affairs. Students do not have the right to access financial records of parents, or the personal memory notes of a University official or faculty member.

Transcripts of academic records are available to the individual student or his legal representative and to authorized members of the administration and faculty. Academic and health records are not available to others except by request.

Student Services Programs

Aid to Impaired Medical Students (AIMS)

The Aid to the Impaired Medical Student (AIMS) Program, unique among American medical school campuses when it was established in Memphis in 1982, attempts to provide compassionate assistance to impaired students before they are irreversibly harmed. The AIMS Program is concerned with problems of impairment due to substance abuse (drugs and alcohol). Governed by a council of students and professional members, the AIMS program seeks to identify, intervene, evaluate, treat and monitor those students who unsuccessfully adapt to the stresses in their lives. The program is completely confidential and protects the rights of the those students receiving treatment. Further, the program assures that recovered students are able to continue their medical education without stigma or penalty. At the same time, it protects patients and others from the harm an impaired student might cause.

Peer Mentor Program

Peer Mentors are trained sophomore student volunteers who offer a support system to freshman students. The program teaches prospective physicians that it is acceptable to need help, to turn to one another for help, and to know how to offer support. In addition, the program fosters positive development and a shared, cooperative approach to education. A national model, this unique program has been well received and utilized by the UT medical students.

Faculty Mentor Program

The Faculty Mentor System facilitates interaction among faculty and students. Each entering student becomes a member of a faculty mentor group composed of students, one faculty mentor, and two or more peer mentors. The faculty share their perspectives on medical education and the profession, and serve as resource persons for specific questions or problems. The sophomore peer mentors coordinate the activities of the group, but students may contact their faculty member directly to discuss issues related to personal, academic or career counseling.

Career Counseling and Residency Placement

Choosing the specialty most congruent with your interests, talents and long-term personal and professional goals is a major life decision. Programs and activities are available to support students as they contemplate this decision and choose their specialties and residencies.

The Career Counseling and Residency Placement Program begins in the second year of medical education and continues through the NRMP Match in the fourth year.

Tutoring Services

For information on the Campus Wide Tutoring Program, please visit Academic Success or contact Academic Success at academicsuccess@uthsc.edu.