VOLUNTEER WORKERS
10/30/2009
Please read:Volunteering and Observing Patient Care ("Shadowing") at UF
EXEMPTIONS:
The following individuals are exempt from completing Volunteer Packets:
- College of Medicine (in session) Medical Students
- Site Monitors for approved clinical trials
- Students enrolled in MEL4012 (Physician Shadowing)
- Sales Representatives fully registered/cleared under RepTrax
- Approved Courtesy appointments
Steps to Follow when using Volunteers in your department:
Volunteers can no longer begin their "volunteering" assignment prior to their appointment packets being completed in full and approved by the Department, Dean's Office/Administrative Affairs, Dean of Clinical Affairs and/or Privacy Office.
- Have each volunteer give the appropriate departmental supervisor any personal or professional information relevant to the services he or she will provide. The supervisor should be a faculty or staff member who has responsibility for the programs for which the volunteer is being selected.
- Ensure that departmental supervisors obtain the approval of the department chairman before assigning any volunteer to the department/unit.
- Upon selection, submit a Record of Volunteer Service packet to the Office of the Dean, Personnel Section. The activities may cease at any time at the request of the volunteer or at the discretion of the University.
If the volunteer is going to observe patient care or request access to restricted information, also complete Volunteer Request to Observe Patient Care or Access Restricted Information.
- In general, no volunteer is allowed access to restricted data including but not limited to: Personal Health Information Financial Information, Student Records or Human Resource Information. (Access will be allowed in limited cases with signed approval from the Privacy Office.)
- If your volunteer is going to have patient contact or animal contact, a Health Assessment is required. It will be up to the department who will be responsible for paying the related charges for the assessment and required vaccines.
- Volunteers must complete either HIPAA & Privacy - General Awareness or HIPAA for Researchers (if they will be involved in research activities) and sign UF's Confidentiality Statement prior to visiting. Other requirements may also apply; be sure to check with the sponsoring department. (Note: "signing" includes registering the volunteer's information in the Privacy Office database. Actual signatures are not required by the Privacy Office.)
- For clinical departments, the volunteer must attend a Mandatory Compliance training session (mandatory unless exempted by General Counsel) usually held at 11am on Thursdays in Room 4223 of the 1329 Building. If the volunteer is unable to make that training session, he/she should call 265-8359 to schedule a one-on-one session. He/she will be required to renew training online each subsequent year.
- Be sure that the individual will not receive any monetary or material compensation from any source for his or her volunteer service.
- While the individual is providing volunteer services, he or she will be covered by the University's worker's compensation policy or state liability protection as appropriate.
- Both the volunteer and the supervisor should sign the form. If the volunteer is a non-resident alien, you must attach a copy of their I-94 card.
- Each department should maintain auditable records of the number, location, and duties of volunteers, along with the number of hours of service provided to the department.
- Volunteer Checklist
Please Note: Effective April, 2002, the College of Medicine no longer allows volunteer service from any foreign national not authorized to work in the United States. (Some examples are; H-4, O-3, L-2, F-2, M-2, TD, R-2) (B1/B2 only allowed for short period/3 weeks or less).
Instructions for Minor Volunteers
New criteria have been introduced establishing restrictions for minors in research laboratories of animal facility. Individuals less than 18 years of age that are not registered UF students will be restricted from certain activities and facilities. Restricted areas include any laboratory or facility designated as BSL-3, ABSL-3 or higher for recombinant or infectious organisms, laboratory where select agents or explosives are used or stored. Restrictions apply to any Animal Care Services (ACS) housing or procedure area/lab/facility. Other restricted activities include work with radioactive materials or radiation (X-rays) and acute toxins. Also, individuals under 18 years of age are restricted from any activity in a patient area.
A review/approval procedure to allow minors to work on research projects under the guidance of UF faculty or staff has been established. The individual and advisor must submit a proposal that will outline the proposed project and procedure to be met in the conduct of the research or study. The proposal will be reviewed by the UF Biosafety Committee and approved if appropriate by Environmental Health and Safety.
The policy and procedures for requesting approval can be found at: Minors in Labs Policy
For further information regarding Volunteer Workers, please contact the Worker's Compensation Office at 392-4940.
