Clinical Attendance and Expectations Policy

1. Clinical Attendance Expectations

• Attendance at all assigned clinical rotations and call shifts is mandatory.
• Any clinical absence should be arranged in advance with the Coordinator of Clinical Support whenever possible.

Clinical Case Logs:

MTSA monitors student clinical time and clinical case logs. Students are responsible for accurately entering all clinical hours worked and cases. Clinical time and case entries must be entered into the clinical case management software within seven days of the clinical day or case.

2. Notification of Clinical Absence

• If you are going to be unable to attend your clinical rotation, you must contact ALL of the following by email as soon as you know you will be unable to make your shift:
  1. The facility Clinical Site/Student Coordinator
  2. The Coordinator of Clinical Support (MTSA)
  3. The Assistant Program Administrator for Clinical Education
• Any absence from clinical obligation not previously approved by MTSA in writing will be considered emergency time.

3. Consequences for Failure to Follow Notification Process

• If the process for notification of an absence is not followed, and MTSA becomes aware of such an absence, the student may be charged two (2) emergency time days for each day absent.
• If a student fails to follow this process in more than one instance, the emergency time charged may be required to be made up after graduation.
• Any absences in excess of specified vacation, holidays, comp days, or emergency time days may result in a delay in graduation of an equal number of days.

4. Clinical Schedule Change

Changes to daily or monthly clinical schedules after they have been finalized and distributed to clinical affiliates are strongly discouraged. Schedule changes are generally considered only in exceptional or emergency circumstances and are subject to review and approval based on curricular requirements, clinical site availability, onboarding requirements, and the impact on other students and clinical affiliates.

First Clinical Year — Semesters 3–5

Students in the first clinical year may request a clinical schedule change only when the proposed change does not conflict with any scheduled academic, simulation, laboratory, clinical, or other curricular activities.

Approval is not guaranteed and will be based on the feasibility of the request, availability of appropriate clinical experiences, and the potential impact on program operations and other student schedules.

Second Clinical Year — Semesters 6–9

Students in the second clinical year may request a rotation swap only when all of the following conditions are met:

1. The proposed swap is between rotations of the same type and length.
2. The proposed swap does not affect adjacent rotations, clinical site assignments, onboarding requirements, or the schedules of other students.

For all students, regardless of clinical year

The request is submitted no later than the first month of the semester immediately preceding the affected rotation to allow sufficient time for onboarding, credentialing, clinical site preparation, and required administrative processing. 

• Swaps for Spring should be requested by the last day of September prior.
• Swaps for Summer should be requested by the last day of January prior.
• Swaps for Fall should be requested by the last day of May prior.

Rotation swaps that do not meet these requirements may be denied. Approval of a rotation swap is not guaranteed and is dependent upon program review, clinical site requirements, and administrative feasibility.

Daily Schedule Swaps

Daily clinical schedule swaps must be reviewed and approved by the appropriate Clinical Coordinator before any request is submitted or any change is made.

Both students involved in the requested swap must complete the required schedule change form located in the cohort’s Teams channel. Incomplete requests or requests submitted without prior Clinical Coordinator approval may not be considered.

Procedure for Requesting a Daily Clinical Schedule Change

To request a clinical schedule change, students must complete the following steps:

1. Obtain approval from the appropriate Clinical Coordinator before submitting a request for a daily schedule swap or other clinical schedule change.
2. Both students involved, if applicable, must complete the schedule change form located in the cohort’s Teams channel.
3. Await official notification regarding the approval or denial of the request.

Students will be notified within a reasonable timeframe by email from the Office of Clinical Support regarding the decision. Students may not proceed with any schedule change unless and until official approval has been granted.

5. Additional Required Clinical Attendance: 

Professional Meetings

• A limited number of students may attend state and national meetings. Attendance may be at the student's expense, with advance clearance from the Program Administrator, Coordinator of Clinical Support, and the current affiliate Clinical Coordinator.

Tennessee Association of Nurse Anesthetists (TANA) Annual Convention

• Second-year students are required to attend two complete days at the conference (depending on clinical schedule), not to interfere with their personal religious observance.
• Non-attendance without prior authorization is considered an absent day and is subtracted from the bank of emergency time granted.
• Student scholarly work may be presented at this meeting in poster sessions or oral presentations.

6. Holidays and Vacation

Holidays

• MTSA observes six (6) holidays when the campus is closed and there are no classes: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.
• If a student is scheduled to be at clinical on a holiday, compensatory time will be granted and added to the student’s Comp Time bank (see Section 8: Compensatory Time).

Vacation Breaks (Academic & Clinical)

Vacation breaks are scheduled at the end of each semester.

• Semesters 1–2: all students typically have a two-week semester break from classes.
• Semesters 3–5: students will have clinical duties for half of each break based on their group (A or B) and vacation during the other half.
  6.4. From the start of semester 6 through the end of semester 9, vacation time will be as follows:
• Two (2) weeks will be scheduled in 5-day blocks with the clinical office through the Coordinator of Clinical Support; each block will include one of the adjacent weekends (the Saturday and Sunday immediately before or after the block), as assigned. 
• All students will be on vacation for one week in early September prior to the start of the Senior Elective.

7. Emergency Time Off

• Students are given three (3) days of emergency time in semesters 3–9, for a total of six (6) days over the 36-month program. No emergency days are given during semesters 1–2.month program. No emergency days are given during semesters 1–2.‑month program. No emergency days are given during semesters 1–2. his time is to be used only for true illness, emergencies, and/or inclement weather.
• Using emergency time from clinical also prevents you from participating in academic activities for that day (see Academic Attendance Policy).

Distribution:

• Semesters 1–2: 0 Emergency Days
  1. Semesters 3–5: 3 Emergency Days
  2. Semesters 6–9: 3 Emergency Days
• During semester 9, students may take up to one week of vacation time during their Senior Elective (in addition to emergency time limits).
• Students may be requested to submit a physician’s report documenting illness.
• Emergency days do not carry over into the next academic year.

Procedure for taking Emergency Time Off (Clinical):

• Students must complete the Student Attendance Request form located in the cohort’s Teams channel.
  1. The student is responsible for notifying the Clinical Site Coordinator.

Penalties for Failure to Complete Steps for Emergency Time Off:

• If MTSA finds that a student has failed to complete these steps, the student will be charged two (2) full days for each day or portion of a day missed (without site Clinical Coordinator or designee approval).
• If this occurs in more than one instance, the student will be required to make these days up after the scheduled graduation date.
• If a student uses emergency time on a day before or after a scheduled day off, weekend, or holiday, MTSA may request a physician’s report documenting illness.
• Absences in excess of emergency time must be arranged with the Program Administrator and may require days to be made up at the end of the program.

8. Compensatory Time (Clinical)

• Compensatory time (“Comp Days”) is time earned for working on a scheduled holiday or for approved extra events.
• Comp Days are recorded in a separate bank and managed by the Coordinator of Clinical Support.
• Comp Days may be earned only when approved by the Program Administrators. Students must submit the Comp Day Form in Teams when a comp day is earned.
• Earned Comp Days may be taken off as the schedule permits and must first be approved by the Clinical Site Coordinator at the site where a Comp Day will be used.
• Earned Comp Days must be scheduled at least 10 MTSA business days in advance and coordinated through the Coordinator of Clinical Support.
• Only one student at a time may take an earned Comp Day in any affiliate, and only with approval from the Coordinator of Clinical Support.
• Comp Days must be used within the academic year in which they are earned. No Comp Days may carry over to another clinical year (semesters 3–5 or 6–9) unless approved by the Program Administrator. Students may only use a maximum of 4 comp days in semester 3-5 and 4 comp days in semester 6-9.

Procedure for Taking Comp Days:

• Submit the Student Attendance Request form (Teams) at least 10–14 business days in advance of the desired day(s) off.
• The completed form is reviewed by the Coordinator of Clinical Support, and the student will be notified as soon as possible if the time is granted.
• The student is responsible for obtaining approval from the Clinical Site Coordinator at the site where the Comp Day will be used.

9. Inclement Weather

See the Inclement Weather Policy