1.0 Policy Purpose
The purpose of this policy is to provide medical students with excused time off to attend to personal matters, including, but not limited to, wellness, housing, or transportation.
2.0 To Whom the Policy Applies
This policy applies to all medical students including those in dual-degree and Primary Care-Population Medicine (PC-PM) programs.
3.0 Policy Statement
Medical students may take Personal Days throughout all years of medical school.
A Personal Day constitutes one full calendar day. Students cannot take two separate half days as one Personal Day.
A Personal Day must be used as a stand-alone absence request and is not intended to be used in conjunction with another Excused Absence (e.g., to extend time off or before or after a long weekend or holiday break).
To request a Personal Day, medical students must use the Excused Absence form found on the class’s Canvas page.
Requests must be submitted a minimum of five Business Days prior to the proposed Personal Day to maximize learning and to help with planning. Requests for Personal Days made less than five Business Days from the proposed date will not be approved.
A Personal Day request is not considered complete until a student receives confirmation from the appropriate administrator.
Due to the variant nature of the phases of medical education, some differentiation amongst the curriculum phases is necessary as described herein.
3.1 Pre-clerkship Phase (IMS 1-4)
Medical students are permitted one Personal Day per semester during the pre-clerkship phase of the curriculum.
Students must make up work that is missed due to a Personal Day. A Personal Day absence does not contribute towards a potential no credit (NC) grade determination in a course or professionalism form.
This policy is applicable only to IMS courses and does not include Doctoring or PC-PM courses.
Personal Day requests do not apply to:
- exams
- exam extension or rescheduling requests
- interprofessional education day
- anatomy labs
- wet laboratories
Any Personal Day requests for the above will not be granted in this phase.
3.2 Clerkship and Post-clerkship Phases
3.2.1 Clerkships
Medical students on clerkships are permitted two Personal Days per semester (totaling four Personal Days per clerkship year), which count towards Excused Absences (i.e., if a student has already taken their allotted Excused Absences during a clerkship, they may not also take a Personal Day).
Students cannot take two Personal Days during the same Clerkship Block or request two Personal Days back-to-back.
Personal Days cannot be taken:
- on days before exams (e.g., Shelf, Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE));
- during required clerkship activities (e.g., orientation, Clinical Skills Clerkship);
- on days of required didactic curriculum (varies by clerkship); and/or
- for exam extensions or rescheduling requests.
Students are expected to balance their Personal Day requests with ensuring they fulfill all of their required clerkship experiences to meet their educational needs.
3.2.2 Post-clerkship
Medical students in the post-clerkship phase are permitted two Personal Days per semester (totaling four Personal Days per year), which count towards Excused Absences (i.e., if a student has already taken their allotted Excused Absences in a rotation, they may not also take a Personal Day).
Students cannot take two Personal Days during the same rotation or request two Personal Days back-to-back.
During the busy residency interview months, students who are participating in residency interviews are expected to engage in independent studies in lieu of clinical rotations.
3.3 PC-PM Students
As with the Block Clerkships referenced in Section 3.2.1 above, Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC) students are permitted two Personal Days per semester.
The same restrictions in the Block Clerkships above apply to the LIC.
Given the limited amount of time students spend in their inpatient immersion, students are expected to minimize time away from inpatient time.
4.0 Definitions
For the purpose of this policy, the terms below have the following definitions:
- Block Clerkships:
-
Core clerkships that occur in six-, eight-, and twelve-week rotations which provide immersive instruction in a particular field of medicine. Students complete one clerkship before rotating to the next.
- Business Day:
-
Days in which the University is in normal operations.
- Doctoring:
-
A required four-course program designed to teach the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors of the competent, ethical, and humane physician. It teaches future physicians how to form their professional identity through the art of communication, the skills of physical examination, and the tenets of professionalism.
- Excused Absence:
-
An absence that may be excused for a major life event, illness, acute mental health, religious observance, or conference or presentation.
- Integrated Medical Sciences (IMS):
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The foundational courses required of all students that teach the scientific, systems, and anatomical components of medicine.
- Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship (LIC):
-
During the clerkship phase of the curriculum, students who are enrolled in the PC-PM program are enrolled in the LIC which integrates the core clerkships (Family Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Pediatrics, Surgery, Internal Medicine, and Clinical Neurosciences) throughout the year-long clerkship.
- Personal Days:
-
Excused time off to allow medical students to attend to personal matters, such as wellness, housing, transportation, etc.
- Primary Care-Population Medicine (PC-PM):
-
A graduate-level program specifically for medical students.
5.0 Responsibilities
All individuals to whom this policy applies are responsible for becoming familiar with and following this policy. University supervisors and employees with student oversight duties are responsible for promoting the understanding of this policy and for taking appropriate steps to help ensure and enforce compliance with it.
Office of Medical Education: Through the appropriate curriculum director, will process and approve Personal Day requests.
6.0 Consequences for Violating this Policy
Failure to comply with this and related policies is subject to disciplinary action, up to and including suspension without pay, or termination of employment or association with the University, in accordance with applicable (e.g., staff, faculty, student) disciplinary procedures.
7.0 Related Information
Brown University is a community in which individuals are encouraged to share concerns with University leadership. Additionally, Brown’s Anonymous Reporting Hotline allows anonymous and confidential reporting on matters of concern online or by phone (877-318-9184).
The following information complements and supplements this document. The information is intended to help explain this policy and is not an all-inclusive list of policies, procedures, laws and requirements.
7.1 Related Policies
- Excused Absence Policy
- Medical School Policy No. 10-03, subsection 3.1.2 (Shelf Exam extensions)
7.2 Related Procedures
7.3 Related Forms
- Excused Absence form (via the respective class Canvas page)
7.4 Frequently Asked Questions
N/A
7.5 Other Related Information
N/A
Policy Owner and Contact(s)
Policy Owner: Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences
Policy Approved by: President
Contact Information:
Policy History
Policy Issue Date:
Policy Effective Date:
Policy Update/Review Summary:
Updated language for clarity and compliance with University policy standards.
Previous policy version(s) superseded by this policy:
- Student Handbook, Golden Ticket, Effective Date: December 21, 2022
- Student Handbook, Golden Ticket, Effective Date: August 1, 2023
- Student Handbook, Golden Ticket, Effective Date: October 18, 2023
- Student Handbook, Golden Ticket, Effective Date: March 20, 2024