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MBChB Attendance and Absence - student guidance

Introduction

Attendance is one of the key professional attributes that you are judged on throughout the five years of the MBChB programme.  Attendance is strongly linked with professionalism in your current role as a medical student and in your future career as a doctor. Students who attend only a proportion of teaching or clinical placement miss vital teaching and learning opportunities, meaning they are less well prepared for assessments, and starting work as doctor. 

We expect you to attend 100% of sessions on the programme as a mark of respect for your colleagues and particularly your patients. Failure to attend, or absence without permission, can have serious consequences and may result in you being excluded from the University. 

The Academic Sub-Deans, supported by information from SES staff, carefully monitor attendance and absence in order to support students and will address patterns of non-attendance at an early stage therefore it is important that you record your attendance and report absence correctly and in a timely way.

University Policy on Attendance and Engagement

University Unsatisfactory Attendance and Engagement procedure

Placement Attendance

Attendance is one of the key professional attributes that you are judged on throughout the five years of the MBChB programme. Attendance is strongly linked with professionalism in your current role as a medical student and in your future career as a doctor. Students who attend only a proportion of teaching or clinical placements miss vital teaching and learning opportunities, meaning they are less well prepared for assessments, and starting work as doctor. 

Satisfactory placement attendance is 100% and we expect you to attend all sessions on the programme as a mark of respect for your colleagues and particularly your patients. There is no rule allowing a proportion of unauthorised absence before your attendance is deemed unsatisfactory. 

  • Failure to attend, or absence without permission, can have serious consequences and may result in you being excluded from the University.

  • Failure to report absence from placement will be considered a professionalism concern and following discussions with the relevant Head of Year, may lead to placement failure.

Please remember when on placement you are present in an employment environment, and you need to behave as if you are an employee; if you are absent from work you are expected to notify your employer as soon as you are aware of the absence. 

On senior clinical placements you will be working in an assistantship role as part of clinical teams, with a greater degree of self-direction and a higher level of professional responsibility.  You will be expected to undertake evening, weekend and night shifts.  We expect you to manage absence as you will when a Foundation Year doctor which is to inform your NHS Placement Co-ordinator on the day of any unplanned absence and request planned absence 4-6 weeks in advance - see below for the process to reporting absence and request permission for planned absence.

Recovery placement

There is limited capacity for recovery time outside your timetabled placements. Please refer to your Year Placement Guide for more detailed guidance on recovery placement or select the link below.

MBChB recovery and resit placements - student guidance

Approved planned absence should be discussed with your NHS Placement Co-ordinator before the commencement of placement, and appropriate mitigation made for the time to be lost. In the case of unplanned absence due to illness, or bereavement, it is expected, where possible, for you to make this up with evening and weekend shifts before the end of your ICU. Please note this is not possible in Primary Care placements.

Rescheduling timetabled activities

Students are expected to attend and engage with all teaching/clinical activities, including lectures, seminars, practical’s, personal tutorials, workshops, placements and online teaching sessions. 

On the MBChB programme, timetable changes are not permitted except in exceptional circumstances for which students need approval from the relevant Academic Sub-Dean or Head of Year. If approved, notification will be sent to the Timetabling Team to make the change. 

We strongly encourage you to arrive on time for mandatory clinical skills sessions. If you arrive more than 10 minutes after the scheduled start time, please be aware that you may not be allowed in. This will be at the discretion of the person delivering the session and be dependent on whether you can still fulfill the learning outcomes of the session in the remaining time.

Rescheduling of timetabled activities may be permitted (where possible) in the following situations:  

  • Mandatory clinical skills training sessions will only be allowed under certain limited circumstances e.g. medical appointments when evidence will be required
  • Where there is a clash with another module 
  • Medical reasons (evidence required)  
  • Childcare or other caring reasons (evidence required)  

Activities will not be changed for the following reasons (not a comprehensive list):    

  • Where timetabling is asked to change a lecture.  
  • Because a student wants to be in the same seminar group as a friend. 
  • Because a student has back to back teaching. 
  • Where there will be an imbalance in the activity sizes, i.e. the additional number takes number of students over room capacity or maximum class size.   
  • Personal preference.

Reporting Absence

You must use Minerva to register any absences from the course. 

  • If you are absent from the University for less than one week, you may self-certify the illness.  If you are unwell for a period of more than one week, you must submit a fit note, available from your Doctor, immediately on your return to University.
  • If you are absent from clinical placements, you must let your NHS Placement Co-ordinator know as soon as practically possible (no later than the date of absence) and self-certify your absence on Minerva as above. Your placement will give details of absence reporting in your induction information. 
  • If you are absent from a clinical skills session you must let the Skills & Simulation Team know either on telephone number 0113 206 7311 or via email at [email protected].  Please also remember to self-certify your absence on Minerva as above.

Please remember when on placement you are present in an employment environment, and you need to behave as if you are an employee; if you are absent from work you are expected to notify your employer as soon as you are aware of the absence. 

If is your responsibility to catch up with missed work, lectures and other academic commitments.  If you need additional support, please contact your personal tutor, Academic Sub-Dean or the Student Support Team.

Requesting permission for planned absence

With the exception of unexpected sickness, we require you to ask for leave in advance, rather than arranging your time away and presenting this as irreversible.  For example, it is not acceptable professional behaviour to book a family holiday during term time and then ask for permission to be absent.  You may need to be away from the course in relation to your own health or personal matters. We are keen to support you to further your professional careers and development (e.g. attending conferences to present work or represent the School of Medicine) or to take part in a major sporting event.  However, your main focus must be your academic progress in the MBChB programme. Absence requests will be considered in the context of your prior attendance and academic achievement.

How to request a planned absence

Complete the leave application form which will automatically be emailed to the Academic Sub Dean for your year of study. Students in years 1 and 2 are generally advised to contact them at least 2-weeks in advance to discuss requests.  Students in years 3 to 5 are advised to contact them 4-6 weeks in advance, as you will be required to do as a Foundation Year Doctor.  Your request will then be reviewed by the Academic Sub Dean, discussed by the School’s Progress Committee if necessary, and permission granted or denied (with reasons) and the decision passed back to you.  Sometimes your Academic Sub Dean will want more details and may request to meet to discuss your request.

You must enter all your absences in the Minerva absence recording system even when you have been granted permission to be absent. All requests (accepted or denied) will be recorded. Failure to comply with the denial of requests will not be tolerated by the school; it will be recorded as unauthorised absence and will be considered a form of unprofessional behaviour.

Not reporting an absence will be deemed a professionalism concern and may lead to ICU failure, or referral to the School’s Health & Conduct Committee.

  • Absence for religious observation

For religious observation, the University (and the NHS) is a secular organisation. We will judge applications for leave for major religious festivals on a case-by-case basis but are unable to make special scheduling for routine teaching and assessments. The University policy on religious commitments is available here.

Absence requests for religious observation can be submitted within a shorter timeframe for festivals for which the exact date cannot be predicted with certainty. In these instances, an absence request to cover the expected timeframe is acceptable. Once the date(s) of absence is known, it is your responsibility to notify key staff of your absence for example, your NHS placement lead/tutor.

You must enter your planned absence in the Minerva absence recording system even though you have been granted permission to be absent.  All requests (accepted or denied) will be recorded.  Failure to comply with the denial of requests will not be tolerated by the School and will be considered a form of unprofessional behaviour.

  • Absence for planned medical appointments, treatment, or surgery 

Please arrange a meeting with your Academic Sub dean if you need medical treatment, surgery, or ongoing regular appointments e.g., for mental health support. They can discuss with you how this can best be accommodated.

  • Personal events

Wedding attendance during term time:
Absence is usually only considered for the wedding of a first-degree relative. Please arrange a meeting with your Academic Sub Dean in advance of making any arrangements to attend a wedding that occurs during term time

Funeral attendance during term time:
Please submit a leave request form or arrange a meeting with your Academic Sub Dean to discuss. Students are usually granted one day of leave to attend the funeral of a close relative or friend, unless the date coincides with an exam. If further time is required for travel, please explain why in your absence request

  • Educational events

Conferences:
Leave will usually be granted if you are presenting or giving a poster presentation at a conference. There is an expectation you will be representing the university. This would usually only be allowed once in an academic year. Leave will only be granted for the day/s of presentation, and reasonable travel. There is no expectation leave will be granted to attend an entire conference. When submitting an absence request to attend a conference, please also provide confirmation of the invitation to present.

Committee attendance:
Some students are part of university committees. Absence is accepted as part of normal student activity, but this must be discussed with your placement tutor, recovery time arranged and recorded on Minerva.