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Physicians in training—class of 23 and 24. In light of the terrible news of Anthony’s death, I am writing simply to address some concerns that many students will have about attendance and clinical duties and balancing that with the individual need to process grief. Each student will have a different approach/process and needs at this time. Some will want to stay busy with work, others will need some time for individual thought, discussion with classmates and family and other personal approaches. Some will need to reach out to student affairs for additional discussions. So we will continue pre-excused absences for the rest of the week and weekend for any clerkship students or seniors on clinical rotations who would find this helpful as they grieve. We only ask that students notify their teams of their absences. Certainly there may be students who need more time and those students should contact their counselor in student affairs for further guidance about clinical rotations and the shelf exams. We hope this will allay concern that a student’s absence from a clerkship may result in negative evaluations. All the clerkship directors are in agreement with this and are supportive of these temporary policies. All of us are of course available for any questions and concerns. Christopher Steffes MD, FACS |
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