Affiliates looking to pursue unique educational and/or research opportunities in the Department of Neurology can elect one of three routes: Shadower, Clinical Observer, or Volunteer. Each of these experiences is set by a varying list of conditions and restrictions.
Shadowing
- Each Shadower must be over 17 years of age.
- The total number of hours to be spent shadowing a provider in the Department of Neurology in 12 months may not exceed 12 hours.
- Each Shadower is strictly limited to observing patient care and will not participate in patient care in any way.
- Each Shadower must obtain written consent from the provider/physician that they would like to shadow. This will not be facilitated by the department’s HR representative.
- When a Shadower is present during patient care, the patient must be notified in advance and have the opportunity to object.
- When a patient consents to have a Shadower present during a care encounter, this consent must be documented in the patient’s chart.
- Any protected health information (PHI) shared or communicated while a Shadower is present must be the minimum amount necessary to facilitate appropriate care delivery.
- A Shadower may not retain any written or electronic PHI (e.g., notes or photocopies) from the shadowing engagement.
- A Shadower will not disclose any PHI they observed or heard while participating in the shadowing engagement.
- This application must be approved by all appropriate parties at least two full business days before the shadowing engagement begins.
Clinical Observation Experience
- The approval process for a Clinical Observation Experience (COE) is much more extensive and requires additional documents from the Observer.
- There is no limit on training hours given that the department’s provider/preceptor can accommodate.
- Hands-on training, within the scope of the role, is under the supervision of a preceptor.
- Each Observer is strictly limited to observing patient care and will not participate in patient care in any way.
- Each Observer must obtain written consent from provider/physician that they would like to observe.
- Each Observer also must determine the appropriate date range(s) and time(s) with the provider that they will be observing. This will not be facilitated by the department’s HR representative.
Volunteering
Unpaid Experience
- A Volunteer must have an official "supervisor."
Common Practices
- An individual cannot be a current, paid employee at the University.
- There are case-by-case instances when an employee can be approved to volunteer. They must be vetted by the Neurology HR team. These instances only fall under the education umbrella; if an employed student elsewhere in the University wants to become a volunteer in our department, it must be for educational purposes only.
- Very minimal patient/study participant exposure is allowed. This requires immunizations and verification.
For additional information or to request details on how to proceed with an official request for one of these affiliate opportunities, please contact Brittany Thoman (Brittany.Rigby@hsc.utah.edu).