09/09/2020
 

Dear Affiliate,

As we prepare for the upcoming flu season, the VA has revised the policy regarding influenza vaccination.  Per VHA Directive 1192.01 all health care personnnel, including health care trainees, are now required to participate in the seasonal influenza vaccination program.

We are now requiring that trainees complete the Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Form (Appendix B) attached to the directive and submit this with the TQCVL.  For those who already have submitted the TQCVL, trainees will still need to complete and submit the vaccination form.  The vaccination record (including the vaccine name, date of administration, and name of clinician administering vaccine) must be submitted with the form.

Trainees must be vaccinated within the first 2 weeks of their rotation once the vaccine becomes available.  All trainees must be vaccinated by November 30th.  We highly encourage trainees to be vaccinated prior to the start of their rotation if possible.

Trainees who do not submit the required paperwork in a timely fashion will not be permitted to train at the VA. 

VHA Directive 1192.01 can be found by clicking on the link below.
https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=8948

Thank you for your continuing commitment to our veterans,

Dr. Stephanie Hung, MD, FACS
Acting Designated Education Officer

Dr. Timothy Pendergrass, MD
Chief of Staff
Sioux Falls VA Health Care System

Due to Federal Regulations, the Sioux Falls VA Health Care System is unable to support individuals observing, shadowing, volunteering or assisting as a volunteer in any type of facility administrative, business or clinical experience or capacity. All individuals seeking practical experience must be sponsored by an existing affiliate and have completed all required trainings and forms.  The SFVAHCS will not approve training requests that do not meet the minimum requirement of 40 hours.

1. Ensure there is an affiliation agreement in place for your school and program.
   • An affiliate representative, not the student, contacts the Sioux Falls VA Health Professions Trainee Onboarding Specialist by e-mailing vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to ensure there is an up to date affiliation agreement on file. 
   • Affiliates and the programs must be accredited, and accreditation must be verifiable on CHEA.org or through the Department of Education.
   • Once it has been confirmed that there is an affiliation agreement in place, the affiliate representative must complete a TQCVL (Trainee Qualifications and Credentials Verification Letter).  This is a two-page letter with a two-page list.  This letter must be completed and turned in to start the onboarding process, training requests will not be approved until this has been completed.   The letter is signed by the school representative stating that all criteria in the letter have been verified and is on file at the affiliate and the SFVAHCS can contact the affiliate at any time to review the documents.  Read the TQCVL carefully before signing and ensure you have all the requested documents and/or information on file. 
   • Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Form- This must be submitted with the TQCVL.  Documentation , including manufacturer/lot number, needs to be attached.  This must be sent with the TQCVL
2. Once the TQCVL has been completed, to include all columns of the attached lists, e-mail the document to vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov .
   • The HPT Onboarding Specialist will then contact the appropriate department to find a preceptor or to get approval for a clinical group.  Once a response is received from the appropriate SFVAHCS department, the information will be sent to the affiliate.
   • Once the affiliate receives approval of the training request, the affiliate (not the SFVAHCS) will send the link to the Health Professions Trainee Checklist to each student, which can be found below.  This list contains all the necessary paperwork, training, and appointments that students must complete in order to start the onboarding process for the SFVAHCS. 
     • It is very important for the affiliate representative to understand this onboarding process and where to find the paperwork, as all student communication and questions are to go through the affiliate representative.  The amount of training requests and students onboarded each year by the SFVAHCS does not provide enough time to answer each individual student's questions.  Most questions can be answered by visiting this site.  It is the affiliate representative's responsibility to ensure the trainees are completing the contents on the checklist and are aware that everything must be completed at least 7 weeks prior to the start of the requested rotation.
     • Please inform your students that all communication is to go through the affiliate representative.
     • If the request if for a nursing clinical group please see "Requesting Rotations for Nursing Clinical Groups" below.
3. The SFVAHCS requires that all training, appointments, and paperwork be completed and turned in at least 7 weeks prior to the start of the requested rotation.  Keep this timeline in mind when requesting training, as the HPT documentation should not be started until the TQCVL has been approved.  If these are not completed and turned in 7 weeks prior to the start of rotation, this could result in a delay in training, or possible cancellation of the request.
4. Once the SFVAHCS has received the student documents, the training has been completed, and the fingerprinting results are received, the SFVAHCS will send paperwork to appropriate departments for review and signature.  Once these have all been signed, the SFVAHCS will request accounts for the trainees as necessary, some trainees do not need computer accounts.
5. All trainees will receive a badge.   Trainees cannot make an appointment for a badge until the affiliate receives notification from the SFVAHCS, specifically the Onboarding Specialist.  For most trainees a badge can not be sponsored by the SFVAHCS until computer accounts are created.  Notification for trainees to make badge appointments usually is not sent until about 1 week before the start of a rotation.  Please do not contact the SFVAHCS about a badge appointment unless you are under a week away from the start of a rotation and you have not heard anything.
6. ALL trainees must stop to see the Onboarding Specialist on their first day of training.  All trainees must sign an appointment affidavit, and this is when they will receive their login codes for computer accounts.
7. On the last day of the rotation, ALL trainees must turn in their badge. 

To request a rotation for a trainee that is also an employee at the SFVAHCS an affiliation agreement and a TQCVL are still required, but the onboarding paperwork is slightly different.

1. The employee requesting a rotation must have been employed at the SFVAHCS for at least 1 year, this cannot be waived.
2. The employee must have attained a Fully Successful or higher proficiency rating/performance appraisal during the last rating period, this cannot be waived.
3. Employees cannot train on their home unit.
4. Employees cannot train during official VA time.
5. Employees will have to complete the VA Dual Employee Trainee Appointment Time Tracking Sheet, which will track their training hours and work hours, to ensure they are not overlapping.
6. Employee trainees will have to send a schedule of training dates to the Clinical Applications Coordinators (CACs) at the SFVAHCS prior to the start of their training rotation.  The employees title in CPRS must state while they are training that they are a student and cannot have their employee title.  The CACs help to monitor this.
7. The SFVAHCS employee requesting training does not have to complete all of the paperwork, training, and appointments that is normally required for Health Professions Trainees. 
   • E-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to request copies of the necessary documentation.
8. Employees will not need a badge appointment and will not turn in badges at the completion of training as they will be using their employee badge.

To request training for a clinical group the process is the same as above, but there are a few other things for the affiliate to understand.

1. The affiliate must provide an instructor for the group, the SFVAHCS will not provide an instructor for clinical groups.  The SFVAHCS is not able to help you find an instructor.
2. If the clinical group instructor is not a SFVAHCS employee, they will have to go through an onboarding process and complete credentialing and training.  E-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to inform the SFVAHCS of any new instructors and to receive the onboarding requirements for a new instructor.
3. If the instructor is a SFVAHCS employee, they cannot be on official VA time in a paid status.  The employee must be “off the clock”, this will be a without compensation appointment at the SFVAHCS.
4. If the instructor is a SFVAHCS employee, they cannot instruct on their home unit.
5. If the clinical group instructor is a SFVAHCS employee, it is the instructor’s responsibility to conduct computer training for the clinical group.  If the instructor is not a SFVAHCS employee, the computer training will be conducted by the appropriate personnel at the SFVAHCS.
6. Computer training will be scheduled for the morning of the first day of the clinical group’s rotation, unless the affiliate coordinates another day prior to the start of the rotation, or the computer lab is not available and the SFVAHCS coordinates another time.  Computer training must take place before the group can start a rotation.

Affiliation Agreement

An Affiliation Agreement must be in place be before starting the onboarding process for all residents, interns, and student trainees.  To find out if your academic institution has an Affiliation Agreement with the VA Sioux Falls, or to establish a new agreement please e-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov

TQCVL

A representative from the HPTs or residents sponsoring institution must complete a TQCVL.

• e-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to request a copy of this form

HPT and Resident forms and training

Mandatory Training for Trainees- Online Training

VA Form 10-2850D Application for Health Professions Trainees

OF 306 Declaration for Federal Employment *you will need two copies of this form.

E-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to request a copy of the following forms

Appointment Letter

Health Care Personnel Influenza Vaccination Form

Fingerprinting

• Call 605-336-3230, ext. 7378 to schedule a fingerprint appointment.
• Bring a copy of the OF 306 with to this appointment
• Bring 2 forms of ID with to this appointment
  • List of acceptable ID

VA Employees requesting HPT Rotations

E-mail vhasuxStudentRequest@va.gov to get a copy of the required documents.