Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (DMS) Clinical Externship Policy:
A. Below, please find Healthcare Training Institute’s official policy with specific regard to the Diagnostic Medical Sonographer (DMS) Program.
1. Available externship sites will be offered only to individuals who meet all of HTI’s externship requirements.
a. Successful completion of all class assignments, tests, quizzes, etc.
b. Clearance is required by the Academic Instructor, Lab instructor and Program Director for any academic requirements and the Administration clear the students in all other aspects (i.e. Tuition should being paid in full).
2.All externship programming will be monitored by the DMS Program Director and Clinical Coordinator to ensure that the externship student is following the prescribed outline.
3. Any externship site that is proposed by the student, such as with an employer or acquaintance, must be directed to the Program Director, so that the necessary paperwork is completed, and to ensure that all proper protocol is followed by site clinical supervisory personnel.
4. Those students who successfully complete their didactic training and receive the approval of the DMS Program Director will be placed at a local hospital, imaging center or medical private practice. Toward this end the school provides comprehensive liability insurance.
5. Externship hours are arranged in accordance with the provisions of the externship policy as agreed to by all parties including the student. Students participating in clinical externships must follow the externship guidelines and conditions provided in The DMS Student Handbook. Students must pass their clinical examination and provide all documentation including a completed clearance sheet, completed physical forms with lab reports, and a satisfactory criminal background investigation (if applicable) to the Clinical Coordinator. After providing the above-mentioned documents, the student must enter the externship site. If the student fails to provide the above-mentioned documents or fails to enter into the designated externship site within the stated time period, the student may be dismissed from the program.
Only daytime externships are offered (Monday through Friday between 8:00 am to 5:00 pm).
6. Students are not permitted to contact any of the HTI Affiliate Clinical Externship Sites without written permission from HTI Administration.
7. All students are supervised by their respective site clinical supervisory personnel. Students are not assigned as, and may not substitute for, site clinical personnel.
8. Students are solely responsible for providing the school with a weekly clinical hours timesheet signed by one of the site’s clinical supervisory personnel which documents the clinical hours completed for the week no later than Monday of the following week (forms are available at HTI).
9. Students must adhere to all site protocols and complete any and all tasks assigned by their clinical instructors. The student is never to reveal any confidential information regarding patients. The student’s ability to complete the clinical externship at a clinical site is, and remains at, the sole discretion of the site’s clinical supervisory personnel. The site’s clinical supervisor may at any time, for any reason, request that the school remove, or relocate, the student. Students that have been asked to leave the externship site by the clinical supervisor may have to wait until another clinical rotation becomes available to in order to resume their clinical program.
10. Students who decline two sites will be dismissed from the program. 11.The clinical site radius from HTI may reach up to 75 miles, so therefore student must arrange transportation to reach to clinical rotation site on time. HTI is not responsible for any expenses associated with commuting to and from either externship clinical sites, or while at the site, examples being food, beverages, parking, etc.
12. Dismissed by externship site for second time due to poor SAP or Code of conducts or Code of Clinical Site.
13. Dismissed by school due to falsifying time sheet or cheating on time sheet.
14. Students must adhere to the clinical externship code of conduct. As student, you will be bound by all applicable rules and regulations of the clinical externship site. (i.e. Hospital, Imaging center, Mobile company, Doctor’s office). Students must be punctual, conduct themselves professionally, and comply with the dress and safety codes of the site they are attending.
15. Students are expected to demonstrate the utmost integrity and honesty while on clinical externship and represent the school appropriately. Students who provided inaccurate data to the school regarding clinical attendance or performance will be liable to dismissal from the school. Any students who lack the required clinical externship hours are solely responsible for completing those hours and must make arrangements with clinical site supervisory personnel to make-up the missed hours. The appropriate site supervisory personnel must attest to the student’s completion of the required attendance. Failing this, the student will be considered not to have fulfilled the requirements for course completion.
16. Students will be expected to:
•Move and manipulate various ultrasound equipment, including the transporting of mobile ultrasound machines weighing up to 500 pounds
•Transport, move, lift and transfer patients who may be disabled from wheelchairs and stretchers onto and off the ultrasound table as the situation dictates.
•Possess emotional and physical health sufficient to meet the demands of the position
•Lift more than 50 pounds routinely
•Bend and stoop routinely
•Have full ability to use both hands, wrists and shoulders for prolonged scanning
• Distinguish audible sounds
•Work standing on their feet 80% of the time
•Adequately view sonograms, including color distinctions
•Communicate effectively with patients and other health care professionals
• Organize and accurately perform the individual steps of a sonographic procedure in the proper sequence
Externship is part of the course curriculum (DMS). It is a learning process which must be completed satisfactorily before graduation. Unsatisfactorily completion of externship evaluation is ground for dismissal from Diagnostic Medical Sonographer program regardless of the higher GPA in the rest of the sections. Students will not, and should not expect to be, paid or compensated for their externships.
18. Students who are receiving financial aid and who have begun their externship and have accumulated 300 hours of the externship must meet with Financial Aid Personnel in order to release the next disbursement for his/her tuition. Should the student neglect to do so and subsequently complete his/her hours before s/he sees the Financial Aid Officer, then the student will be personally and fully responsible for, and obligated to pay, the third disbursement.
19. Since externship involves exposure to an actual practice, as well as observation and experience with available patients, HTI cannot guarantee any participant student will receive a proportionate distribution of clinical exams at one clinical site. The overall volume of exams/ procedures in which the students participate throughout their clinical will include a minimum of 30 % abdominal procedures and a minimum of 30 % OB/GYN procedures. The remaining 40% can be a mix of abdomen, small parts, OB/GYN, MSK, vascular, pediatrics or ultrasound guided procedures. If the student is not getting enough exposure to any one specialty category they will be placed in an additional facility.
20. Some clinical affiliates require a criminal background investigation for students who wish to perform their externship at that facility. In such situations, the student is required to have passed his/her criminal background investigation before they can be accepted into that particular site for externship. Any expenses arising from the criminal background investigation will be solely the student’s responsibility.
21. Any student who fails to provide timesheets to the Registrar or Financial Aid Office for the last disbursement will be responsible for the remainder of the final payment.
22. Once the student has satisfied all requirements for externship, HTI shall submit to the affiliate site for its approval a schedule of student assignments at least thirty (30) days prior to the commencement of said assignments. Planning schedules will be accomplished in consultation with personnel. During this period, students will be afforded the opportunity to maintain and update their skills.
23. The School’s winter and summer breaks do not apply to externship students 24. Clinical Coordinator will choose clinical site for each student who meets the externship requirements from the list provided below. Site availability also poses the potential for a student to be assigned to more than one site. It is to be clearly understood that the list is provided solely for the purpose of clinical externship assignation. Any potential outcomes of the externship, such as employment, are beyond the scope and control of Healthcare Training Institute.
