Guidelines for Professionalism in the Clinical Setting
Medical students are expected to practice professionalism in their dress and behavior whenever they enter a clinical facility. Consider the cultural sensitivities of the most conservative potential patient, and present yourself in a manner that will earn their respect, make them feel comfortable, and will ensure their confidence in their medical treatment. Your first responsibility, on the first day of each clerkship, is to visit the clerkship administrator's office to introduce yourself and to confirm the details of your assignment (the service to which you are assigned and the duration of the assignment). Follow promptly all hospital-specific registration procedures. Remember that you are a guest in each facility: wear the identification badge provided by each site; it authorizes you as a member of the health care team. Do not let your behavior place future UICCOM learning opportunities at this site in jeopardy.

A. WHITE COAT, NAME TAG, BADGE
A clean jacket length White Coat with your name tag, College of Medicine logo on the sleeve, and the site identification badge should be worn in all clinical areas except the operating and delivery rooms.

B. CLOTHING, SHOES, JEWELRY
Personal attire should be clean, pressed and businesslike. Jeans are not appropriate. Slacks should not be frayed or worn. Men should wear shirt and tie. Women's necklines, hemlines, and fit should be conservative: skirt hems should be at or below the knee; dress slacks should be tailored. Provocative clothing styles or clinging fabrics are not appropriate, nor is jewelry or attire that might appear unprofessional to patients. Clean, conservative, and comfortable shoes should be worn with hose or socks; athletic footwear, sandals, bare feet or exposed toes are not appropriate. Keep jewelry to a minimum as it presents potential for cross infection.

C. PERSONAL GROOMING
Shower daily. Avoid distracting perfumes or colognes; make-up should be kept at a minimum. Nails should be well manicured and of a length which does not interfere with clinical activities or interfere with safety of patients or staff. Men should shave daily. Hair, beards, and mustaches should be neat and properly groomed and must be covered by proper caps and masks in the operating room, delivery room, or other areas employing aseptic technique.

D. SCRUBS
Scrub suits are hospital property and are not to be defaced, destroyed, altered, or removed from the hospital. Scrub suits are proper attire only in the operating suite and in the delivery room. They are not authorized to be worn outside these work areas. If you must leave one of these areas in scrubs, your cap, mask and shoe coverings should be removed, and you must put on a clean, buttoned, white coat. Stained or soiled scrub clothing is a source of contamination, and must be changed as soon as possible.

II. Professional Behavior

A. COMMUNICATING WITH THE PATIENT AND THEIR FAMILY
Communicate with patients and family in a manner that can be understood by them; speak slowly, clearly, and respectfully. Remember that patients who have been sedated or are recovering from anesthesia may have an altered capability for understanding of what is being said in their presence, and may misinterpret what they hear. Exercise caution and good judgement with family, keeping in mind issues of patient confidentiality and the affects of stress on their ability to process information.

B. COMMUNICATIONS WITH OTHER STAFF
Your behavior should remain professional in all clinical settings: avoid loud and boisterous conduct with staff that could be misinterpreted. Be cautious in your presentation and discussion of patients to ensure that your remarks are not heard by the wrong person, or misinterpreted by patients or relatives.

C. PATIENTS OF THE OPPOSITE SEX
Examinations of patients of the opposite sex should be performed in the presence of a chaperon, if the patient expresses any discomfort. All pelvic examinations should be performed with a chaperon in attendance.

D. MEALS/SNACKS
Meals may be purchased in the hospital cafeteria. Food should not be removed from patient trays or hospital carts. If you bring your lunch, do not eat it in a clinical area , eat in the lounge. Throw out paper and leave area cleaner than you found it.

E.LOUNGE AREAS
Lounge areas are provided for student use. Do your part to help keep these areas neat and clean for the next person who uses them.

A.DISCLOSURE AND CONSENT
Patients confidentiality is paramount. Patient must feel free to make full disclosure of information to their physicians in order to foster excellent patient care. Therefore, all information disclosed to physician and student physicians during the course of a doctor-patient relationship must be held in strictest confidence. Physicians should not reveal confidential patient communication without the express consent of the patient.

If lab data is xeroxed, block out name and chart number. Information contained in medical records is deemed privileged and confidential, therefore so not photocopy charts for presentations as these are frequently not destroyed afterwards. Patients' medical information may not be disclosed to third parties without the written consent to release such information from the patient record. Exceptions under #B below may apply as required by law.

Copied information for presentation must be shredded and destroyed after the presentation. Do not copy information for distribution. Informed consents should be obtained by a physician not the medical student.

B. "AT RISK" EXCEPTIONS
Limited exceptions to disclosure of confidential information exist, and pertain to appropriate disclosure to "at risk" third parties. Examples may include homicidal intention, blood borne infectious status of a patient to "at risk" third parties, and legally required reporting to governmental entities (i.e., sexually transmitted diseases, gunshot wounds, domestic abuse, etc.). Such reporting is the responsibility of a physician not the medical student

C. MINOR PATIENTS
Special consideration apply to preserving confidential versus disclosure of information in the care and treatment of minor patients, particular teenagers. These are specifically controlled under state or municipal regulations.

Effective March 27, 2000 UIC COM at Chicago, M-3 Curriculum Committee