Clinical Experience/Externship

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Effective: 08/30/2021

Certain programs require students to serve a clinical experience/externship in the office of a physician, dentist, hospital, clinic, or long-term-care facility during, near the end or upon completion of academic training. The Director of Clinical Education (DCE)/Clinical Instructor/Extern Coordinator will arrange all clinicals/externships. The clinical/extern site is under no obligation to employ the student following completion of the clinical/externship. During the clinical experience/externship, students are given the opportunity to put their classroom and laboratory training into practical application under actual employment conditions. While on clinical/externship, the student is under the supervision of a Clinical Instructor/Externship Site Supervisor and Externship Coordinator or school faculty. Any absence incurred during the clinical experience/externship must be reported to the Program Director, the Clinical Instructor/Extern Coordinator, DCE and the Clinical/Extern Site Supervisor/Preceptor. Clinical experience/externship must begin immediately upon assignment following classroom completion. All program and catalog requirements apply, including dress code, name tags, drug use, etc. Additionally, students must abide by the rules and regulations of the site to which they are assigned. This includes rules governing confidentiality of medical records and reports to conform to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). While on clinical experience/externship, students must comply with the following clinical/extern regulations:

  1. The school will assign students to a clinical/externship site. Students may not turn down a clinical/externship. The school cannot guarantee a particular facility or geographical location; however, Concorde will consider the student’s request when making assignments. Students are not permitted to complete their clinical/externship experiences at current employers or sites where family members may have direct influence over students’ clinical or externship experiences.
  2. Students must work the same hours as employees at their assigned site. Some programs require 12-hour shifts and may be completed days, nights, and weekends to obtain the desired clinical skills. Depending upon state laws, a certain amount of time is required for lunch. Lunch time is not included in the total clinical/externship hours.
  3. Clinical/externship is a part of the student’s education. Students will not be paid and may be withdrawn from the program if the facility reports that they were asking for or receiving pay.
  4. Clinical/extern sites may require that students be vaccinated/immunized for various diseases, be tested for drug usage and/or be checked for any criminal background prior to accepting them.
  5. Students must meet the objectives on the clinical/externship checkoff and their midpoint evaluations. An unsatisfactory evaluation from the healthcare facility may require the student to serve an extra clinical/externship period, return to school for further training, or result in his or her withdrawal from the school. Poor performance or removal from a clinical site may result in withdrawal from the program.
  6. As part of the externship requirements, students are responsible for completing and submitting forms and documents as required. Students are responsible for accurate and prompt recording of work hours as well as submitting time to the campus as instructed. Respiratory Therapy students must sign in and out using DataARC documenting software. All procedures performed must be logged in DataARC per program policy. Midterm evaluations (for programs requiring them) must be completed and submitted to the school at the halfway point of the externship. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that the healthcare facility has completed and signed all evaluations and time verification sheets and that the Academic department has received them upon completion of his or her externship.
  7. It is the student’s responsibility to attend scheduled meetings, including site interviews, before and during his or her clinical/externship. Students may be required to return to the campus during their clinical/externship at the direction of their Clinical Instructor/Extern Coordinator or Program Director.
  8. Students are expected to behave in a professional manner at all times. Any conduct that reflects discredit upon the student, the school, or the site will subject the student to withdrawal from the school.
  9. If a student is going to be late or absent, he or she must notify the healthcare facility and the Clinical Instructor/Externship Coordinator. Violation of attendance policy will result in probation or withdrawal from school.
  10. Students should immediately notify their Clinical Instructor/Extern Coordinator/DCE if any problems are encountered during clinical/externship: personality conflicts, illness, etc. (Students must never walk off the site, for any reason, without first notifying their Clinical Instructor/Extern Coordinator or Program Director.)
  11. Tuition payments must be kept current.
  12. If a student is dismissed from a clinical/externship site, the Program Director will evaluate the circumstances of his or her dismissal, and a decision will be made regarding his or her status as a student. The student may be withdrawn or dismissed from school at that time. If the student is allowed to continue his or her clinical/externship and is dismissed from another site, he or she will be withdrawn from school. Students who are dismissed from clinical/externships will be required to repeat the entire clinical/externship.

Students may be required to travel up to 200 miles away from campus to attend clinical assignments, depending on programmatic requirements. Specific information regarding travel distance to clinical assignments will be provided to students during the enrollment process. Students are responsible for their own travel to and from clinical assignments and must plan accordingly.