{"id":3334,"date":"2021-05-27T17:38:35","date_gmt":"2021-05-27T21:38:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/?page_id=3334"},"modified":"2025-06-27T11:41:37","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:41:37","slug":"current-students-2","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/student-life\/current-students-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Current Students"},"content":{"rendered":"

Important Information<\/h3>\n

Medical Insurance and Health Care<\/h4>
<\/p>\n
Medical Insurance<\/h5>\n

Sufficient health insurance coverage, which includes hospitalization and medication coverage, is required of all physician assistant students. All students are automatically enrolled in the BU Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) unless they are granted a waiver based on comparable insurance coverage with another carrier.<\/p>\n

In the course of the clinical education, there are times when students may be exposed to infectious agents and environmental hazards. At the beginning of the Clinical Practicum, students will be trained to prevent exposure to health hazards as required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Strategies for prevention and risk reduction will be reviewed again prior to beginning the program’s clinical phase.<\/p>\n

In the event that a student is exposed to a health hazard,\u00a0we encourage them\u00a0to seek care at the BU Student Health Services. If they are on rotation away from the Charles River Campus, they should go to the nearest health care provider, which may be the emergency room. Treatment for these exposures will be covered by the student health insurance. With the exception of an emergency situation, the PA faculty are not permitted to provide medical care to the PA students. More information is available in the Clinical Handbook, which will be distributed to all students about to begin the clinical portion of the program.<\/p>\n

Treatment Options<\/h5>\n

Boston University Student Health Services<\/em><\/h4>\n

http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs<\/a>
\n881 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston MA 02215
\nPhone: 617-353-3575
\nFax: 617-353-3557
\nEmail: shshelp@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Boston University Behavioral Medicine (Mental Health)<\/em><\/h4>\n

http:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/behavioral\/<\/a>
\n881 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston MA 02215
\nPhone: 617-353-3569<\/p>\n

BUSM Behavioral Health Center (Medical Campus)<\/em><\/h4>\n

http:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/busm\/student-life\/student-life\/health\/behavioral-health\/<\/a>
\nSolomon Carter Fuller Mental Health Building
\n85 E. Newton St., Suite 816, Boston, MA 02118
\nPhone: 617-353-3569<\/span><\/p>\n

Aetna Student Health<\/em><\/h4>\n

https:\/\/www.aetnastudenthealth.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Search “Boston University” on the homepage to view health plans available to Boston University students.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Student Health Compliance<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Student Health Services offers medical and behavioral health care on the Charles River Campus and the Medical campus. They maintain your BU admission health record and review compliance with immunization policies which are reported to the University Registrar.<\/p>\n

General university requirements include compliance with the immunization policies for health professionals.\u00a0Students are not permitted to register for classes if they are not compliant with the policies.<\/u>\u00a0Please visit the BU Student Health Services website for more information:\u00a0https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/shs\/getting-started\/incoming-health-requirements\/#gf_31\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0 To check your compliance with the immunization policies and download a copy of your immunization record, please see the Personal tab>Compliance> on your Student Link page. Please note most clinical sites require up-to-date documentation of immunizations. If you fail to keep your immunizations current, you will be unable to continue in the clinical phase until the Student Health Services deems your record to be satisfactory.<\/p>\n

Behavioral health services are available for student on the Charles River and Medical campuses. To contact behavioral health, please call 617-353-3569 to schedule an appointment. If you need assistance scheduling an appointment, please contact your academic advisor or any faculty member who can assist you in obtaining a same day appointment.<\/p>\n

SHS also offers wellness and prevention programs<\/a> for students.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Class Schedules<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

C<\/strong>lass schedules<\/strong> for Semesters 1-8 are maintained on a Google Calendar that is shared with your BU account. Please contact the PA Office if you have difficulty accessing the schedule.<\/p>\n

The PISCEs class schedule<\/strong> for School of Medicine classes taken during the didactic phase can be found here<\/a>. PA students do not take the other medical school courses listed on the block schedule. This schedule is added to the PA student Google Calendar, however, please use to the Chobanian & Avedisian SOM schedule, if there appear to be discrepancies.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Background Checks and Drug Screenings<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Students who are admitted routinely participate in clinical education experiences as a part of the PA program. Most clinical sites require criminal background checks and drug testing to define the student\u2019s eligibility for participation. History of a criminal background or a positive drug screen may disqualify students from participating in these experiences, which are required for successful completion of the PA program. Please review the Student Handbook for more information about how background checks and drug screens are performed.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Policies and Procedures<\/h3>\n

PA Program Policies<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

PA Program Policies can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Expectations of Students<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Expectations of Students can be found here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Student Work Policy<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

Students enrolled in the PA Program are advised not work while in the program; employment would put the student at academic risk due to the program\u2019s rigor and pace. PA students are considered full time students. Students are not required to work for the program and they are not allowed to substitute for or function as instructional faculty or clinical or administrative staff.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

Grievances, Discrimination, Title IX<\/h4>
<\/p>\n

When possible, students should attempt to resolve academic-related conflicts with the PA faculty members and the program director. If the conflict is not resolved to the satisfaction of the student, the student may wish to contact the Office of the Ombuds<\/a>\u00a0which is an independent, impartial and confidential place where persons can bring issues related to life and study at BU. Talking to the Ombuds can be a good first step if\u00a0you have a concern and\u00a0you don\u2019t\u00a0know where to turn for help.<\/span>\u00a0If informal conflict resolution does not occur, PA students are encouraged to utilize the processes and resources of the Office of Student Affairs<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The BU PA program believes that the learning environment should be safe for all students and free from discrimination. Please use the links below to learn more about reporting safety or discrimination concerns.<\/p>\n

BU <\/span>Equal Opportunity Office<\/a>\u00a0for general policies<\/span><\/p>\n

Discrimination based on disability\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0reporting<\/p>\n

Sexual misconduct<\/a>\u00a0policies and resources<\/p>\n

BUSM Title IX coordinators<\/h4>\n

Karen Symes, PhD
\nAssistant Dean of Student Affairs
\n(617) 638-4196
\nsymes@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

Gwynneth Offner, PhD
\nAssistant Dean of Admissions, BU Chobanian & Avedisian SOM<\/p>\n

(617) 638-8221
\ngoffner@bu.edu<\/a><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Important Information Policies and Procedures<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1158,"featured_media":0,"parent":56,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3334"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1158"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3334"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3334\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4062,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3334\/revisions\/4062"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/56"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/paprogram\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3334"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}