Requirements for Clinical Rotations:
Ensuring Patient Privacy & Safety
All of your clinical rotations and some of your first year observation experiences will require you to provide
documentation confirming that you have completed training related to patient safety and confidentiality as well
as documentation of your immunization records. This is extremely important for us and for your rotation sites
to ensure optimal patient care and to protect you as well. You are also legally required to produce the following
per our affiliation agreements with each institution.
You must save copies of all of your immunization records in your electronic portfolios, which is kept privately,
so that each student may access only their own records as needed while enrolled in the UNCG GC Program. It
is also important for our program to maintain copies of these records. Randi Stewart will help facilitate the
submission of these records to appropriate institutions.
1. Evidence of immunizations
You can go to your own physician to have the immunizations or you can go to Student Health on
campus. UNCG Student Health can be reached by calling (336) 334-5340 for an appointment. ALL of
the immunization records below are required by all of your clinical rotations beginning the summer
between the first and second years. However, as you will read below some of these documentations
are/were required for your first year observations at Cone Health as well.
If the immunization records are required for your Cone Health observation in the fall, this
documentation must be submitted to Cone Health at your orientation class and saved to your electronic
portfolio prior to your observation experience. Details of orientation class at Cone Health will be
provided by Randi Stewart in GEN 610. First year Cone Health immunization requirements are
underlined below.
All other requirements should be done around mid-May, which is one month before clinical
rotations begin. All documentation for clinical rotations is due to Randi Stewart during the
Clinical Skills Seminar in the summer before rotations begin. You can use the student health forms
whether you use student health or your own physician.
a. Hepatitis B
Each student must either have documentation of a previous hepatitis B vaccine, get it before your
Cone Health observation in the fall of your first year and before your clinical rotations begin, or
sign a decline form. The vaccine is given in three doses over a five month period. The cost at
student health is approximately $35 per dose for a full time student or if you have previously paid
the Student Health fee. You are not required to have all three completed before you start your
rotations/Moses Cone observation, but at least the first dose unless you decline. Randi will provide
the decline form.
b. Varicella (chicken pox)
You must have medical documentation of varicella (chicken pox) infection, vaccination (2 doses),
or get the vaccination before clinical rotations begin and before your first year Cone Health
observation in the fall. If you do not have documentation of either, a signed note from a parent will
NOT be sufficient. You will need to have your blood drawn for titers to document immunity.
Negative results require vaccination. Two doses of the varicella vaccine is required.
c. TB skin/blood test and results
A TB skin test with documentation of results (within the last 3 months) is required for first year
students prior to Cone Health observations. UNCG Student Health no longer performs the TB skin
test, although they offer a (more accurate) TB blood test that is $75 for full time students or if you
have previously paid the Student Health fee. You should also have another TB skin or blood test
at the time of your physical examination approximately one month before your clinical
rotations begin.
All students rotating at Wake Forest Prenatal or Pediatrics are required to have two TB tests
performed within one year of your rotation. The first TB test that WF would “count” occurs in
May prior to summer clinical rotations. The second TB test must occur within 30 days of your WF
rotation.
d. *DTP/Td (tetanus and diphtheria)
e. *Td booster within the last 10 years
f.
*Polio
g. *Measles vaccination or documentation of immunity through titers
h. *MMR (mumps and rubella) (1st and 2nd)
* You had to submit immunization records upon admission to UNCG documenting your DTP/Td,
Td booster within the last 10 years, Polio, measles, mumps and rubella vaccinations. Student Health
should have copies of these. We need copies of these records to be kept here at the Genetic
Counseling Program as well. This can be documented on the student health services form.
i.
Seasonal influenza/H1N1 flu vaccinations
You will be required to have a seasonal flu/H1N1 vaccination during flu season (commonly defined
as October-March) at ALL clinical rotation sites and some first year observation experiences once
they are available during flu season. If a medical condition prevents you from doing so, please
provide documentation of this. First year students observing at Cone Health in the fall during the
months of October and November (not September) will need to have a flu vaccine prior to your
observation experience. Some clinical rotations may offer the vaccine for free within their clinic
during the flu season; you can ask your supervisor about this.
2. Criminal Background Checks
All first year students are required to volunteer for the Family Support Network of Central Carolina
(FSN), specifically for Sibshops and Buddy Walk (see course information for GEN 610 for details).
Prior to your volunteer opportunity, FSN requires background checks to be performed for all volunteers,
which they will facilitate free of charge for us. We will use these background checks generated by FSN
for you if possible. You will be notified by Randi Stewart if this will not be sufficient.
Many rotations require background checks include those at Wake Forest, Fullerton Genetics Center in
Asheville and Duke Medical Center. Other ad hoc summer rotations may require them as well. Randi
will fax background checks to appropriate institutions prior to your clinical rotations; you do not need to
do this.
Fullerton Genetics Center requires that background checks be performed within 90 days of the start of a
rotation and will not accept background checks performed in the fall of your first year by FSN. An
additional background check will need to be performed; they prefer to use Intellinet and will provide
you with details on how to proceed with this online. Please provide the result of your background check
to Randi so it can be saved to your portfolio.
3. Complete blood borne pathogens training
You will be provided with additional training and a quiz on blood borne pathogens during the Clinical
Skills Seminar (GEN 669) in the summer before your clinical rotations begin.
4. Complete HIPAA training
You will be provided with additional training on HIPAA during the Clinical Skills Seminar (GEN
669) in the summer before your clinical rotations begin. This training includes two powerpoint
presentations and two quizzes on HIPAA.
5. Drug screens
Some but not all sites require urine drug screens. Please make sure your drug screen results are
saved in your electronic portfolios; you may have the lab fax your result to the house if you prefer.
Please review your result report when you receive it to make sure all information is correct and
make sure your name is on the result report.
a. Those of you completing rotations at Carolinas Medical Center (CMC) in Charlotte will need
a urine drug screening before you begin at that site; this can be performed any time within one
year before your rotation. This can be performed at the lab/clinic of your choice. For CMC, the
urine drug screen must include marijuana, opiates, amphetamines, cocaine and other nonprescribed drugs. In addition, there is a Release from Responsibility and Assurance of
Confidentiality form for CMC you will need to sign and turn in to Randi Stewart. Other sites will
have similar forms but they will be completed on site.
b. Anyone rotating at Fullerton Genetics Center in Asheville will be required to have a urine
drug screen to include 7 chemicals – THC, opiates, amphetamines, benzodiazepines, cocaine,
PCP and barbiturate at a CAP or SAMSHA certified lab.
c. Student rotating with Wake Forest Pediatrics and Prenatal also need a 10 panel drug screen
performed prior to your rotation including: amphetamines, barbiturates, benzodiazepines,
cocaine metabolites, marijuana metabolites, methadone, methaqualone, opiates, phencyclidine,
propoxyphene, ethyl alcohol. The drug screen must be performed within one year of your
rotation. WF will send you more detailed information about this prior to your rotation.
d. Duke Medical Center requires a urine drug screen for all specialties. Duke requires urine drug
screening for the following substances: cannabinoids (marijuana), cocaine, amphetamines,
opiates (heroin, opium, codeine, morphine), and phencyclidine (PCP).
e. At this time, the drug screen requiring the most extensive panel is the 10 panel drug screen. If
you are rotating at WF and another site requiring a drug screen, work together with Randi
Stewart to maximize the chance that one drug screen will be sufficient for all sites requiring a
drug screen (so you do not end up paying for multiple drug screens).
f. All first year students will observe with Cone Health in the fall semester. Immunization
requirements have been outlined above. In addition to this, you are required to complete an
online training module and complete two exams on this module. Immunization records and
completed exams need to be submitted to your mandatory orientation class at Cone Health that
Randi Stewart will orchestrate. More details will be provided in GEN 610.
6. Physical examination
Each student will need to have a physical examination the summer before starting clinical rotations.
This is to protect patients from communicable diseases. You may use the physical examination form
typically used by your health care provider or you may use the UNCG form; both are acceptable. Randi
will provide you with the form used by student health (also found at the student health website).
7. Documentation of Health Insurance
We also need documentation of your most up-to-date health insurance plan, such as your health
insurance card, saved electronically in your portfolio.
8. Documentation of Professional Liability Insurance
The UNCG Genetic Counseling Program will purchase insurance through UNCG at the cost of
approximately $19 each semester (spring of first year, summer, fall and spring of second year) for a
total of approximately $76. However, these rates are variable. Students rotating at LabCorp will have
separate insurance policies and the price may vary slightly (approximately $3 difference per semester).
You will be notified of the precise cost by Randi Stewart and when you will need to pay this fee. We
will obtain liability insurance for you before each semester. Randi will provide rotation sites with
insurance certificates before your rotation begins if they have requested it. If a rotation site has
questions about your liability insurance, you may refer them to Randi Stewart.
Last updated June 2014.