Important Information for Shadow Students

Confidentiality

When a patient enters the hospital, they entrust our staff with a variety of information, some of which is very personal. If the patient does not feel they can trust us with their personal information, they will not trust us to care for them. It’s vital that there are no barriers to patients receiving the care they need. For this reason, maintaining patient privacy is as important as the medical care we provide at the hospital.

It is the responsibility of every person in the hospital to maintain patient privacy and confidentiality at all times and in all matters. The way we accomplish this is by sharing patient information only with those who are involved with a patient’s care. Job shadowing and learning at the hospital offers you the opportunity to spend time on-the-job with a practicing healthcare professional.

In the course of this experience, you will likely overhear and observe confidential patient information. We expect all student observers in the hospital to maintain the same level of confidentiality as we expect of our staff. To prepare yourself to meet this expectation and prevent the disclosure of any patient information, review the following statements regarding confidentiality:

• Information concerning the diagnosis, prognosis, condition, care or treatment of patients shall be held in strict confidence.
• The obligation of maintaining and protecting confidentiality extends to the information within
  patient charts and records.
• Under no circumstances shall any patient information obtained during this experience be
  discussed with anyone.
• Privileged information regarding any employee or information regarding hospital business
  arrangements shall be held in total confidence.
• All non-employees shall be required to sign confidentiality statements upon the first association
  with the hospital.
• Any violation of confidentiality will result in immediate termination of the shadow experience and
  the notification of your school.
• It is a breach of confidentiality to share information you have learned in the course of shadowing with family members, friends, or anyone outside the hospital.
• It is your responsibility to maintain the confidentiality of all matters learned while participating in the Job Shadowing Program.
• Remember, what you see here, what you hear here, must stay here when you leave.

Safety Information

While you are in the hospital for this program, you will need to know how to keep yourself and others safe. You also need to know what to do in case of an emergency.

Infection Control

Standard infection control precautions are used by all employees and volunteers to ensure the safety of patients, visitors, and staff. These precautions prevent the spread of germs and disease.

The number one way to stop the spread of disease is hand washing. Hands are to be washed before and after contact with patients or their belongings. Hand hygiene must be performed before entering and after exiting patient rooms.

To effectively wash your hands, follow these steps:

• Use soap, water, friction, and towels
• Scrub for a minimum of 15 - 30 seconds
• Give special care to frequently-missed areas such as sides of hands, thumbs, between fingers, under fingernails, and under rings.
• There are also hand hygiene products in dispensers around the hospital. Feel free to use these as needed.

Hospital Emergency Information

Emergencies can and will occur. It is everyone’s responsibility to know what to do for each emergency situation. This section will explain how hospital staff, volunteers, and students are alerted to emergencies, emergency code names, how you can call an emergency, and how you need to respond in case of an emergency.

Emergency Alerts in the Hospital

Since the hospital is very large, hospital staff, volunteers, and students are alerted to emergency situations through the overhead paging system. Each type of emergency is associated with a code name. The code name is paged overhead throughout the duration of the emergency.

Once the emergency is cleared and there is no more danger, overhead pages alert us that the code is canceled. Drills are often performed to keep everyone prepared in the event of a real emergency. Do not be alarmed if you hear code drills being paged while you’re in the hospital. In the case of drills, patients are not moved (as in the case of a fire drill). Please follow your mentor’s direction during any emergency situation that occurs while you are shadowing.