COVID-19

If you develop any symptoms of COVID-19, you must get tested so you can take steps to care for yourself and help protect others in your home, campus, patients, and our healthcare teams.  

• If you are on an IUSM campus, you can get tested at the associated student health center
• Get tested at an off-campus location (CVS, Walgreens, etc.)
• Use an at-home antigen test
• Wear a mask until your symptoms resolve or you have a negative test

If you test positive for COVID-19, you must: 

1. Report: Complete the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form. You can also find this at one.iu.edu, search “COVID” and click on COVID-19 Self Reporting Form. 
2. Isolate: Use the day of your positive test as day 0.  Your isolation will last at least 5 days. For example, you have a positive test on Monday (Day 0) then Saturday would be your day #5 of isolation.  
3. Ending your isolation: As long as your symptoms are getting better AND you’ve been fever-free for 24 hours without fever-reducing medicine, on day 6, you can go back to a normal routine with masking in all situations through day 10. If you do not meet both criteria, then you must continue to isolate for 10 days total. So in the example, Sunday would be day #6 and Thursday would be day #10.  
4. After isolation: Wear a mask for 5 days (days 6-10 following a positive test) at all times when around others. You should not eat or drink in public or with others during this time due to the high risk of transmission.

Note: healthcare systems may require retesting prior to returning. Students are expected to comply with the policies of their clinical facilities. See below.

Follow the procedures as outlined above
If you test positive for COVID 19, In addition you must:
 1. Inform:
a) Attending physician on your healthcare team
b) Occupational Health or Employee Health at your assigned clinical facility 
c) Clerkship or elective administration (i.e. clerkship coordinator, clerkship director, elective director)  
2. Complete: Time away request form for time away from clerkships, clinical rotations or electives

 If you’ve had a high-risk direct exposure to COVID-19 in a clinical or community setting: 

• You will NOT need to quarantine after a patient or other exposure if you remain without symptoms and continue to wear a mask in all settings to protect others during the post-exposure monitoring period. 
• Students need to continue monitoring for symptoms at least twice daily for 10 days after high-risk exposure and stop working immediately if they start feeling ill and pursue testing as outlined above.

A “high-risk exposure” means spending at least 15 minutes within 6 feet of someone with active COVID disease with no surgical mask over a 24-hour period, or in an aerosol-producing procedure/environment with no N-95 mask. 

If you meet ‘ending your isolation’ criteria, you can simply return to campus and the classroom. You must continue to wear a mask when around others on day #6 through Day #10 if you met criteria to return on day #6. If you are returning on day #11, no mask is required but is always recommended.  

If you meet ‘ending your isolation’ criteria and you have complied with your clinical facility’s COVID-19 return to work procedures, then you may return to the clinical setting and continue to follow the universal masking policies currently in place for clinical settings.  

All IUSM students are expected to have gone through the full vaccination series for COVID (two of the Pfizer or Moderna shots or one of the previously offered Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccinations) unless they have an approved exemption. Because of the waning protection from the vaccine, students are encouraged to continue with the recommended booster series as indicated by the CDC.

Home antigen test kits are an accepted testing option for personal use and for guiding safe return to work/classroom/clerkship decisions. The U.S. Government has made free test kits available to everyone upon request. Access this site to obtain 8 home test kits.  

The CDC does not recommend repeat testing after day ten and we are uncertain the degree to which patients may shed non-infectious antigen after this interval. If you are feeling better, it is OK to return to work, but you should remain masked when around others for at least 5 more days (15 days total) and until symptoms have completely resolved.

The contact info for infection control leaders at each facility and/or campus are as follows. As a reminder, you can get tested at the associated student health center near each campus.

All masks should fully cover your mouth and nose, fit snugly against the sides of your face with no gaps and have ties or ear loops to prevent slipping. The CDC provides a guide to masks.

Phase 1

As noted in the link above, a double layer cloth mask greatly reduces virus transmission and is minimum required mask for general campus activities.

Surgical masks are required for activities where close distancing is not avoidable, such as anatomy dissection tables and physical exam skills session in FCP and will be supplied.

Phase 2 and 3

Surgical masks are required at all times within the clinical setting (inpatient and outpatient). This includes during rounds, teaching sessions, etc., as well as direct patient care. Students must also abide by their local healthcare facility protocol/rules and infection control measures in their assigned clinical settings. Students are expected to provide good stewardship of their use of PPE in all clinical settings.

Masks, for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, decrease the risk of transmission for the mask wearer (~80% reduction) and those wearing masks in their immediate environment (>90% reduction of spread if both individuals masked).

Please see IU’s site for the most current policy.

You should always follow local healthcare facility infection control procedures. Healthcare systems have developed detailed local guidelines based on state, federal, and other specialty-specific guidance as well as local prevalence data. Standard surgical masks remain the method of protection for routine patient care, including COVID patients.

An N95 respirator or higher respiratory protection is required for healthcare personnel during any aerosol-generating procedure such as positive pressure ventilation, intubation, surgical /invasive procedures, or CPR. These masks will be available in the clinical setting. Updated recommendations are available from the IDSA and CDC and nicely explained by our own Dr. Cole Beeler in this video.

For IU School of Medicine learners in clinical settings, we have developed a reporting form for potential concerns or incidents related to COVID-19 safety that vary from the CDC COVID-19 related guidelines. This form will address the learning environment for student training.

Any patient safety or issues covered by HIPAA should be reported within the healthcare system’s local incident reporting procedures. Your clerkship directors and coordinators are also available to help with any questions during rotations.

Extended use or “re-use” of N95 masks was a common practice during the early COVID-19 pandemic in order to maintain respirator supplies and has been well-studied. Healthcare providers and systems should follow CDC guidance on the safe and effective extended use of PPE and N95 respirators.

Hospital protocols vary based on specific equipment and processing procedures to ensure safe extended use. Healthcare providers practicing extended use of a respirator should perform a respirator seal check per current CDC guidance.

In general, healthcare providers should use hospital-issued PPE to ensure that all protective equipment meets current requirements for functionality and use. Some hospital systems have specific exceptions (for example, some hospitals allow providers to use their own face shields or eye protection). 

The goal of mitigation testing is to quickly identify and isolate any individuals who test positive for COVID-19, including asymptomatic carriers of the disease. Those who are unvaccinated will be subject to periodic mitigation testing as per IU and clinical facility guidelines. Please see IU’s guidance about types of testing the university offers.

Contact tracing helps isolate positive cases of COVID-19 and identifies close contacts of those who have tested positive in order to stop the chain of transmission. Please see IU’s guidance about contact tracing.

Both isolation and quarantine are public health practices used to stop or limit the spread of disease but they are distinctly different measures.

Isolation is used to separate ill persons who have a communicable disease from those who are healthy. Isolation restricts the movement of ill persons to help stop the spread of certain diseases.

Quarantine is used to separate and restrict the movement of well persons who may have been exposed to a communicable disease to see if they become ill. These people may have been exposed to a disease and do not know it, or they may have the disease but do not show symptoms. Quarantine can also help limit the spread of communicable disease.

Isolation and quarantine are used to protect the public by preventing exposure to infected persons or to persons who may be infected.

See IU’s guidelines for isolation and self-quarantine.

If students feel that their campus or clinical site is not meeting the expected requirements to help keep us all safe, please use the following link to report their concerns so that we can follow up. 

IU has provided an extensive FAQ list that will continue to be updated regarding general questions around the vaccine.

All housing for rotations away from home campus is designed to provide a single bedroom and guidance for cleaning of any shared areas to minimize exposure. Please report to MSE or your clerkship or campus leadership if you have any questions regarding potential conditions that may make you at high-risk for infection.

Due to careful attention to CDC guidelines for healthcare workers including the use of surgical masks in clinical settings, the risk of transmission in the clinical environment remains extremely low.

At this time, IU School of Medicine has worked to ensure that our clinical partners’ supply and student access to required PPE is adequate. We do not anticipate that we will need to pause essential clinical education at this time but we ask for patience and flexibility if this should change due to unforeseen future changes in conditions. 

As stated by the CDC, symptoms of COVID-19 include:

Fever or chills

Cough

Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Fatigue

Muscle or body aches

Headache

New loss of taste or smell

Sore throat

Congestion or runny nose

Nausea or vomiting

Diarrhea

Discuss your situation with your primary care physician for medical guidance. Discuss with MSE or your clerkship or campus leadership to determine best options.  IU School of Medicine, like our clinical partners, follow the CDC’s guidance on high-risk conditions that qualify a team member to take extra precautions or be considered for exclusion from caring for COVID-19 patients and those with other infectious diseases who are in isolation and considered infectious. 

Involvement of IU School of Medicine students with COVID-19 patients will only occur when the standard Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) precautions can be met, including adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) for the conditions. Standard surgical masks are still the primary protective mechanism used in all routine interactions with patients with known or suspected COVID. N-95 fit testing or alternatively fit checking at your clinical facility will be done to ensure adequate protection when N-95 masks are needed (aerosol-generating procedures).

If you are feeling anxious or overwhelmed, the Department of Mental Health Services (DMHS) is available for support. DMHS offers individual psychotherapy, couples counseling, group counseling and psychiatric services. Currently, all services are available via telehealth.

DMHS also can assist in connecting to other resources as needed. IU School of Medicine trainees statewide can reach out to DMHS at:

• Phone: (317) 278-2383
• Email: dmhs@iu.edu

In urgent situations, the DMHS Crisis Line is available 24/7: (317) 278-4357 (HELP)

• Calls are answered by a licensed mental health clinician who can provide assistance and contact the on-call DMHS clinician for urgent help.
• Anyone can call the crisis line on behalf of a trainee, and calls can be made anonymously.

When should I seek help?

Seek support if you are experiencing these common warning signs and risk factors for emotional distress.

And check out the Mental Health Continuum to determine when it’s time to enlist professional care.

Practice self-care

Think about how frequently, and how well, you are performing self-care activities to maintain good health and improve well-being by taking this self-care assessment.

Regional Campus Resources

Additional resources for regional campus trainees Regional campus medical students have additional local resources as listed below. They also may reach out to DMHS to explore their resource options as these resources continue to develop over time.

Keep Learning at IU provides resources and tips.

See IU’s policy for connecting to enable secure access.

IU has established hot spots around the state if you have any connectivity issues. Find deals and other sources for internet access in the FAQ section of the Keep Learning site.