Status of Clinical Rotations

Student and Employee COVID-19 Testing

Current WSU students, faculty and staff can now walk in for a free COVID-19 test at Student Health Services. If you have pre registered through MDL you can enter through the Wesley clinic door on the east side of the building. For registration information visit our COVID-19 testing page.

Status of Clinical Rotations – College of Health Professions

As of Friday, March 20, 2020

Note: The WSU Provost has requested that all hospital-based clinical rotations be suspended effective immediately until further notice. This action is consistent with a similar decision made by KU School of Medicine and their allied health programs. Among other reasons, many hospitals are running low on personal protective barrier supplies and wish to reserve their inventory for their staff. Hospitals are also locations that have a greater risk of exposure. Outpatient clinics tend to have a lower risk of exposure.

Departments that have suspended most or all clinical rotations:

Physician Assistant (PA) - Effective March 13, 2020, all clinical rotations for PA students currently in their second year were suspended until further notice. This action is consistent with a similar decision made on the same date by KU School of Medicine.
Nursing (NURS) - Effective March 13, 2020, all clinical rotations for undergraduate NURS students were suspended until further notice. The exception is the RN to BSN students who are already working as nurses, many of whom are out of state, and who will be following their employer guidelines. Many of the graduate NURS clinical rotations were also suspended, with exceptions similar to the RN to BSN students.
Public Health Sciences (PHS) – has elected to suspend all practicum rotations.
Dental Hygiene (DH) – The vast majority of clinical education for DH students occurs in the Ahlberg Hall Dental Hygiene Clinic, which has suspended all patient-based operations and all student-involved instructional activities. Student clinical rotations have been suspended until the end of the semester.
Medical Laboratory Sciences (MLS) – Effective Friday March 20, 2020, all clinical rotations for MLS students have been suspended until further notice.
Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) — All speech-language pathology and audiology students on externships have been pulled from their placement sites until further notice. The WSU Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic also remains closed to clients until further notice.

Departments that are continuing most or all clinical rotations

Physical Therapy (PT) – As of March 15, some affiliated clinical facilities have opted to discontinue student rotations and those students have been notified individually and have been removed from the respective clinics.

Ascension Via Christi will suspend all student clinical rotations through April 1st and reassess at that time.

The department has reviewed guidelines and recommendations provided by The American Council of Academic Physical Therapy, The Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education, and The Association of American Medical Colleges.

Third year DPT students (who are in the last two weeks of final clinical rotation) have the option of removing themselves from the clinic for the following reasons: a) The student is immunocompromised or cares for a loved-one that is immunocompromised, or b) The student is uncomfortable with the risk of exposure and feels that it is in his/her best interest to terminate the rotation.
Advanced Education in General Dentistry (AEGD) – AEGD is open, but seeing patients on an emergency basis in accordance with Kansas Dental Association recommendations. Offsite clinical rotations have been suspended.

Looking ahead

Many students will need to make up missed clinical rotations this summer, or beyond.