General Policies & Procedures: AHC Student Background Checks Policy

Section 1. Policy Application and Background
This policy applies to each college and program in the Academic Health Center (AHC) whose students, including residents, and fellows, are required to pass a criminal background study under state law (Minnesota Vulnerable Adult Act, as amended 1995 and 1996) in order to have direct contact with patients at hospitals, nursing homes and other health care facilities licensed by the Minnesota Department of Health.  Direct contact is defined under the law as providing persons with “face to face care, training, supervision, counseling, consultation, or medication assistance.”

Background studies may be initiated by the licensed facilities where students are placed or by educational programs that train students in licensed facilities.  The studies are conducted by the Department of Human Services (DHS) on behalf of the Department of Health.  Grounds for disqualification include a criminal background on a broad range of offenses, substantiated findings of maltreatment against children or vulnerable adults, failure to cooperate with the background study or failure of a health professional to make a mandated report.  Individuals who are disqualified have the right to request reconsideration from the Department of Health.

Students are exempt from the background requirement if their patient contact is directly supervised at all times (i.e., within the hearing or sight of an employee or contractor who has passed the background study) and they are not compensated for their services.  Students such as residents, who receive compensation, must pass the background check regardless of whether their patient contact is supervised.

Section 2. Notice to Students
Each college and program that admits students are subject to the background study requirement and shall notify prospective students of the requirement by including a description of the law in program catalogs, brochures, and/or application materials.  This notice shall inform students that failure to pass the background study may preclude them from being admitted to or successfully completing the program.

Section 3.  Admission/Acceptance Decision
Students who are subject to the background study requirement will be informed in their admission/acceptance letters that they must complete a background study form upon matriculation and that failure to pass the study is grounds for dismissal from the program.  To the extent a program wishes to require admitted students to complete the form prior to matriculation, the program will notify students that failure to pass the study is grounds for revoking their admission if results of the study are available prior to matriculation, or for dismissal from the program if the results of the study are available after matriculation.  Any action by a college or program to revoke a student’s admission or dismiss the student based on failure to pass the background study may be appealed by the student under the procedures outlined in Section 6 below.

Section 4. Initiating Background Studies
Each college or program shall determine whether it has students who are subject to the background study requirement and, if so, how the studies should be initiated.  AHC programs that place students at the University of Minnesota Medical Center-Fairview and/or rotate their students through a number of different clinical sites will initiate background studies on the students.  These studies are valid for one year and may be used at every facility where the student is placed during the year.  Other AHC programs may rely on their clinical sites to initiate background studies, if acceptable to the sites.  Studies initiated by clinical facilities are valid only at that facility.  Clinical sites are free under law to require that students undergo a background study at their facility even if the study already was requested by the University.

Section 5. Initial Disqualification/Reconsideration
Programs receiving notice that one of their students has been disqualified will contact the student immediately to determine if he/she will seek reconsideration of the disqualification.  If the student provides written confirmation that he/she will seek reconsideration within the 30-day period required under the law and the DHS has not ordered the student to be removed from direct patient contact, the program will continue to allow the student to have direct patient contact with the agreement of the facility or facilities where the student is placed.  As required by the DHS, the program will notify facilities where the student is placed of the student’s initial disqualification and pending reconsideration request.  Notice from DHS to the program does not include the reason why the student has been disqualified; this information is available to the program or the facility only with the written authorization of the student.

Section 6. Dismissal of Students
Students whose disqualification is not set aside by the Department of Health will be dismissed from the program in accordance with existing program procedures or have their admission revoked if they have not yet matriculated.  This decision may be appealed by the student to the existing academic process or scholastic standing committee in the applicable college or program.  Medical residents may appeal the decision to a panel of the Graduate Medical Education Committee.  It will be the student’s burden to: 1) establish that he/she does not present a risk of harm to patients; and 2) provide a proposal for how the student may complete the requirements of the program within the confines of the law.  As part of this process, the student must authorize DHS to disclose to the program the reasons for the student’s disqualification.

Factors to be considered by the applicable academic process or scholastic standing committee under item number 1) above include the nature of disqualifying offense(s); when the offense(s) occurred; the harm suffered by any victim; the age and vulnerability of any victim; and evidence of successful rehabilitation.  Factors to be considered under item number 2) include the feasibility of providing direct supervision to the student at all times; the possibility of obtaining required clinical experiences at facilities not covered by this law; options for obtaining a variance or other release from the Department of Health; and any other relevant factors.  A decision under the applicable college or program procedures to deny a student’s appeal is final.

Section 7. Revision of College/Program Policies
Each college and program in the AHC that has students subject to the background requirement will incorporate this policy into its program policies or revise program policies as needed to reflect the requirements of this policy.

Adopted by the Academic Health Center Dean’s Council 1.7.97