Details of UCC insurance cover for medical students are available on request from the School of Medicine Office. This is of particular importance to Year 4 students who will need details of insurance cover for their summer elective applications.

The Health Service Executive (HSE) requires all students working within its organisation to have obtained “Garda Vetting” which involves a police check for criminal convictions in the past or any criminal proceedings pending. The Gardaí provide this information for students who have resided in Ireland for a period of 6 months or more (including permanent residence).

Students who have resided outside Ireland for a period of 6 months or more must furnish a Police Clearance Certificate from their country or countries of residence. This Certificate should state that the student has had no convictions recorded against him or her while residing there. In addition to obtaining a Police Clearance Certificate, all students may be invited to sign a legal declaration (Affidavit) in the presence of a Commissioner for Oaths confirming that they have no criminal convictions current or pending. The College of Medicine and Health, if necessary, will make arrangements for this to be done during Orientation using approved wording. Students will be required to pay a small charge to the Commissioner for Oaths for this service.

Medical students may be at risk of contracting and transmitting certain infectious diseases, as a result of being in the clinical environment. In order to protect patients and students, it is important that healthcare students are screened for certain infectious illnesses and immunized against these illnesses. Students usually have to have Hepatitis B vaccination and some students require BCH vaccination. It is important that students have had 2 MMR vaccines (there has been a recent Mumps outbreak on campus).

The UCC Infectious Disease Screening and Blood Borne Virus Policy requires medical students to forward details of their immunisation and medical history to the Student Health Department once they have received an offer of a place on the course.

Further Information

Medical students must adhere to the School of Medicine’s Dress and Appearance Code developed by the School of Medicine Student Affairs Committee. Students in the clinical environment must dress in a fashion suitable to the workplace and in a manner which does not cause offence to patients, staff or other students.

Medical School Dress and Appearance Code

It is extremely importance to protect members of the public from harm and to maintain the trust and confidence of the general public in the professions and the University. Thus it is vital that medical students are deemed fit to practise while on placement. To describe an individual as ‘Fit to Practise’ in the context of certain professions is to say that he/she possesses the attributes considered necessary in an individual to allow on-going practice as an independent practitioner in the relevant profession.

UCC Fitness to Practice Policy and Procedural Guidelines

The Clinical Research Ethics Committee of the Cork Teaching Hospitals (CREC) deals with ethical approval for clinical research involving human participants, their identifiable data or tissue. This Committee is recognised by the Department of Health and Children as a nationally competent ethics committee for clinical trials under the European Communities (Clinical Trials on Medicinal Products for Human Use) Regulations. The CREC manual is available from the CREC secretariat.

All student research projects for their final Year Project must be referred for ethical approval to (CREC).

In broad terms, prior approval is necessary where the research methodology involves:

• Therapeutic interaction with a human participant

• A clinical trial of, inter alia, a medical device, medicinal product or clinical technique as stipulated under relevant legislation

• Development of diagnostic techniques using human participants

• Access to, or utilisation of, human tissue and body fluids

• Access to, or utilisation of, identifiable medical data concerning individuals (such as clinical records) by parties not directly concerned in the provision of care to these individuals
• Interaction with / observation of individuals in a healthcare contact or setting

E-mail: crec@ucc.ie

School of Medicine Research