MSCHE Self Study April 2021

by 27 optometrists throughout the metropolitan areas. Students and residents provide care at certain of these sites, which in recent years averaged about 45,000 – 50,000 visits. Externship Program Fourth year consists of four 12 ‐ week clinical rotations, beginning with a summer rotation following completion of the spring semester of third year. Three of these rotations typically occur at externship sites, most of which are off campus. 5 Students must complete one externship in each of the following categories: ocular disease ‐ hospital/VA, family practice ‐ primary care/contact lenses, and a rotation of their choice in a specialty care area such as advanced ocular disease/surgical co ‐ management, low vision, cornea ‐ advanced contact lenses, or vision therapy. This process was instituted for the AY 2019 ‐ 20 externship selection and was designed to better align with changes in optometric practice and to ensure that all students are sufficiently well exposed to ocular disease management in a hospital setting and modern cornea/contact lens practices. Externship Site Selection Criteria include space and equipment, qualifications of supervising faculty, clinical privileges of supervising faculty (where applicable) and clinical practice guidelines employed at the site. Individuals who supervise students at the site are granted two ‐ year renewable adjunct faculty status by the dean and vice president for academic affairs through established appointment policy and procedure and may be reviewed for advancement and promotion. Following review by the College using the site selection criteria, the College and each externship site sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that addresses respective responsibilities of all parties ( Externship Site List ). The College monitors and is responsible for the education that occurs at the sites. Particularly relevant to the COVID ‐ 19 pandemic, health and safety standards have been established ( Externship: Health and Safety ). Externship sites are monitored using a number of mechanisms. Students are required to log each patient encounter, including demographic, diagnostic and treatment information, using the Meditrek web ‐ based system. These provide the basis for summary data for each site that are regularly reviewed by the director of externship programs. At the conclusion of a rotation, students complete (using Meditrek) a detailed Externship Experience Evaluation , which is reviewed by the director of externship programs. Externship sites are provided with a detailed Externship Manual that includes a history of the program, learning objectives and competencies, grading guidelines, instructions for the use of Meditrek, extern and clinical instructor responsibilities and assorted program policies and forms. An annual Externship Expo is held in the fall at the College to update externship site supervisors or their representatives on program requirements, clinical teaching expectations and guidance including instruction on assessment and calibration of grading. There is an open house for third

5 Certain of these rotations (which we call “internal externship rotations”) may occur on campus at SUNY specialty clinics (advanced care, contact lenses, pediatrics and visual rehabilitation and clinical research).

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