Section 2-280 - Attendance Policy

CMH EMS Education Manual

Any time a student must be absent from class, the Lead Instructor should be contacted. Due to the compact time frame of most courses, it is important that all classes are attended. Students must attend 80% of required course activities, including classroom and laboratory hours. More than 4 days missed will be reason for dismissal.

Any student who is absent is responsible for any and all information, materials, and instructions given during class. The student will be held responsible for material presented and for assignments in the missed class. All missed clinical hours must be made up. Time made up for clinical rotations does not decrease the total number of hours missed. Faculty are under no obligation to offer extraordinary assistance to students who are chronically absent or tardy.

Medical Absences

Doctor’s visits and other appointments should be scheduled beyond school hours. Any absence of three consecutive days or longer due to illness will require a doctor’s written statement. Illness verification by a doctor may also be required at any time as deemed necessary by the PHS Clinical Chief. Any hospitalization requires a release from the doctor to return to class and clinicals. Extenuating circumstances will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Documentation for extenuating circumstances must be submitted within seven calendar days of return to class.

Students will not be allowed to attend class or clinical rotations if any of the following health issues is present:

• Elevated temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or above.
• Vomiting or diarrhea.
• Cognitive deficits.
• Signs or symptoms of communicable disease (i.e. pink eye, cold, flu, streptococcus, COVID, etc.).

Tardiness or Leaving Early

Students should realize that tardiness to class and leaving early may be disruptive and that disciplinary measures may be taken. If a student arrives to class after it has started, he/she must wait until the next break to enter to avoid causing a disturbance. Any student who is tardy or leaving early more than 20% of the total contact time for that class will be marked absent for the entire activity.

• One-hour competency example: A student missing more than 12 minutes will be counted absent.
• Night class example (class meets 1800 to 2200 hours): A student missing more than 48 minutes will be counted absent.
• Day class example (class meets 0830 to 1730 hours with a 1-hour lunch break): A student missing more than 1 hour and 36 minutes will be counted absent.

Habitual Tardiness or Leaving Early

Students who are late to class or must leave early "regularly" may be handled on a case-by-case basis to eliminate the disruption. "Regularly" is defined by the instructor as it pertains to class interruptions. A warning shall be given to the student with the following possible repercussions for continued class disruptions (but not limited to): Full absence marked for any tardiness, not allowed to enter class after it begins, grade reduction, or termination from the program.

Virtual Attendance and Make-Ups

The option to attend class virtually (Webex) or make up the lesson is entirely up to the discretion of the instructor. Some lessons, activities, and schedules do not allow for virtual or make-up participation.

Excused Absences

There are no "excused absences." Students not present (as defined above) for lesson activities will not be counted as participating.

Visitors

Children and visitors are not allowed during classroom, laboratory, or skills activities except by explicit invitation by instructor, lead instructor, program director, or PHS Clinical Chief. Instructor, lead instructor, program director, and PHS Clinical Chief must approve all visitors on a case-by-case basis.

Interruptions

Students are not permitted to leave early or interrupt class with pagers, cell phones, or radios. Students should turn them off, silence them, or not bring them into the classroom. On-duty students may, at the instructor’s discretion, be allowed to respond to emergencies during class at the request of the Incident Commander.

Students are expected to display courteous and professional behavior during classroom, lab, and clinical sessions. Disruptive behavior during a lecture, practical, or clinical session may be grounds for dismissal.

CMH EMS Education Mission: "Provide state-of-the-art education to develop and support a team of exceptional emergency medical professionals."

CMH EMS Education Manual is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at http://ozarksems.com/edman-4-240.php.