CHED issues guidelines on clinical rotations of med students

The face-to-face clinical rotation of clinical clerks and post-graduate/medical interns will continue regardless of the community quarantine status but subject to issued guidelines, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) announced Friday.

The directive is pursuant to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 138 released on September 9, 2021 " to have additional frontliners  in  hospitals without compromising the safety of the interns, since they will not be rotated in COVID-19 areas/units."

In a statement, CHED chairman Prospero "Popoy" De Vera III said this is subject to guidelines that will be issued by the agency and the Department of Health (DOH).

De Vera said higher education institutions (HEIs) in areas under general community quarantine may be given authority to conduct limited face-to-face classes based on the following considerations:

• They submitted their applications to the concerned CHED regional offices
• They are offering  any of the priority health-related degree programs and courses/subjects
• They have base hospital/s catering to COVID 19 patients.

Meanwhile, HEIs offering medical education programs in areas under enhanced community quarantine, modified ECQ, GCQ with heightened restrictions may be given authority to conduct limited face-to-face classes based on the following considerations:

• They submitted their applications to the concerned CHEDROs;
• They have base hospital/s catering to COVID-19 patients. Medical clerks and postgraduate/medical interns shall NOT be allowed to rotate in the emergency room, out-patient  department, and COVID wards, but ONLY be allowed to rotate in non-COVID units (including non-COVID operating rooms and ICU), telemedicine hub and the Bayanihan Na Operations Center (if applicable);
• Only fully vaccinated medical clerks and postgraduate/medical interns shall be allowed while unvaccinated clerks/interns shall continue with the flexible learning modality and may take face-to-face classes if the area is reclassified to MGCQ/GCQ
• For HEIs already issued authority by CHED to conduct limited face-to-face classes,  the same will serve as authority to conduct limited face-to-face classes in areas under ECQ, MECQ and GCQ with Heightened Restrictions, subject to the same conditions and obligations
• The limited face-to-face classes of medical clerks and postgraduate/medical interns in base hospitals shall not be affected by the implementation of granular lockdowns in any barangay, municipality, city or province.

-- Joahna Lei Casilao/BAP, GMA News