Placement Absence

Absence from Placement

  1. Successful completion of the clinical education component is a requirement for graduation from the MScPT program. Therefore:
  2. While on clinical placement, 100% attendance is expected from all students.
  3. Any time missed will need to be made up; if possible tagged onto the current placement if this is convenient for the CI and site, or it will be tracked by the ACCE and added on to a future placement.
  4. It is the student's duty to notify the CI as early as possible if they are unable to come in for a regularly scheduled day of placement.
  5. Absence is limited to 5 days over the course of the program. Every effort should be made to make up as much time as possible during the placement in which hours are missed.  If there is no opportunity to make up hours during the current placement, hours may be made up in a subsequent placement. 
  6. Students may not miss more than 5 days (1 week) in any one placement. Absences of greater than 5 days in one placement must be made up. Longer absences may impede the student’s ability to meet the expectations of the placement and, in consultation with the student, CI, and ACCE, a determination on whether to defer a placement due to absence will be made on a case by case basis. Students should schedule required personal appointments so that they do not interfere with clinical commitments.
  7. Students wanting an absence for religious reasons or special circumstances must submit a request in writing to the ACCE well in advance of the start of the placement. If granted, written approval needs to be forwarded by the student to the CI at the site with the letter of intent in advance of the start of the placement.
  8. No matter the reason, any absence from a placement must be reported to the ACCE/CEA. The ACCE and the CI will determine how and when this time will be made up.
  9. Requests for absence for compassionate reasons should be made to the ACCE.
  10. Clinical instructors are requested to track all time missed and mark it on the last page of the clinical performance instrument. The ACCE will monitor student's absences over time to ensure that the minimum hours for graduation are met.
  11. Any unauthorized absence from clinical practice is regarded as a serious breach of discipline and professional misconduct.
  12. Students with more than 5 days of absence over the course of the program will be required to make up the additional time  in a clinical site determined by the ACCE at the end of the program; this may delay a student’s graduation.