Guidelines on Classroom and Clinical Skills Lab Conduct and Management
Please direct any inquiries about using classrooms and clinical skills labs to Brenda Mori, Vice-Chair of Education. For those areas that this Guideline does not cover, please refer to the University and Rehabilitation Sciences Sector's policies on the building management, room rental and audio/visual aids.
Clinical Skills Labs and Small Group Rooms
There are three large clinical labs (Rooms 132, 730, 750 and 760) and a simulation lab on the fourth floor (Room 490A and B). These labs are for teaching practical skills and running practical skills exams. There are also small group rooms (721, 727, 738, 740, 744, 753, 758, 218, 220, 221, 225, 450, 492, B31, B35) and lecture rooms (140 and 150) used for classes. You may use these rooms to study if they are not in use for scheduled classes. Please clean up after using these rooms and ensure that the furniture is arranged the way you found it.
Equipment and Supplies
In the laboratory, you must abide by the regulations set up by the department and RSS (including professionalism), when handling equipment and keeping the rooms clean. All the equipment and supplies in the clinical skills lab must be used under supervision of/or permission by academic leads, lab instructors, teaching assistants, or student monitors. No equipment is allowed to be taken out of the laboratories without permission.
Supplies are stored by area of study in the cupboards within the laboratories (Room 730 for Cardiorespiratory and Electrotherapy, Room 750 for Musculoskeletal and Neuroscience). The PPE supplies (masks, gloves and gowns) and cleaning agents (sprays and hand sanitizers) are kept in Room 720. The cupboards in each room should be locked after usage. It is the responsibility of academic leads in each unit to keep an up-to-date inventory of supplies and equipment in the cupboards and storage room (Room 755, some in Room 720). Both rooms 755 and 720 are accessible only by faculty and staff.
The existing set-up of the clinical skills lab should not be changed without permission. If there are needs to change the set-up for a special session, such as a Practical Skills Examination, the user must put everything back in order right after the event.
If you notice any equipment is missing or damaged, please report this to an academic lead, and the academic lead will notify the specific offices in the Department: Professional Education Program Administrator for Physical Therapy equipment, Shane Brandon for audio/visual aids, and Amanda Patterson for general conditions on the 7th floor.
General Guidelines
Please observe the following guidelines:
- Arrive for clinical skills labs, dressed accordingly. You have access to your lockers to leave all personal belongings except for a device to take notes during the lab.
- If you need to change onsite, you should use the washrooms and/or change rooms.
- Do not place back packs, hard objects, or your shoes on plinths.
- Do not sit on either end of a plinth (you can sit only on the middle section).
- The capacity of each plinth is for one person only.
- Be cautious when sitting down on the rolling stools, as they can easily slide out from underneath you.
- No food or drink is allowed in the labs.
- Do not leave any items (like water bottles, Kleenex boxes, back packs) on the windowsill as this may disturb the moving electric blinds and result in damage to the blinds.
- Do not prop the door open with any object (e.g., a chair or a garbage can) as it may block the door in case of emergency.
- If there is a fire emergency, you must follow the instructor’s order or superintendent’s announcement and exit the building quickly.
- No pets are allowed in classrooms/laboratories, except for guide/working animals required for special needs or teaching purposes.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
The Department of Physical Therapy will continue to make masks available for activities related to teaching and learning within the MScPT Program for a student, patient or an instructor who requests a mask. Please review the PPE Checklist below for proper procedures related to PPE and physical distancing during COVID-19. You are responsible for reviewing ALL the links in this checklist. Please see the Department of PT’s Masking Policy.
- Ensure PPE is worn appropriately. Donning
- Ensure PPE is removed appropriately. Doffing
- Storing your face shield
- Hand Hygiene Video 1- 4 moments of hand hygiene
- Hand Hygiene Video 2- just clean your hands
- Hand Hygiene Video 3- 7 steps for hand hygiene
- Cough Etiquette Protocol
- College of PT of Ontario- Practice Guidelines
- World Health Organization Modules
- Environmental Cleaning Toolkit -Public Health Ontario Modules
Cleaning of Surfaces
- You (as well as faculty/TAs/CIAs) must adhere to the regular infection control procedures. After each encounter, you (as well as faculty/TAs/CIAs) need to disinfect all surfaces that have been touched, including seats, counters, door handles (inside and outside), light switches etc.
- You (as well as faculty/TAs/CIAs) must clean your areas prior to the start of a session, between every encounter, and then at the end of the session.
- If using exercise equipment in the clinical skills lab, the ‘wipe twice method’ will be employed, meaning that equipment will be disinfected prior to use and then disinfected immediately after use.
- If you (or faculty/TAs/CIAs) use an iPad/tablet/laptop for taking notes, you need to wipe the surfaces with disinfecting wipes upon entering the lab and prior to leaving the lab.
- Each lab will have several Sani Stations that includes hand sanitizer, a spray bottle with disinfectant, and a towel. Following each time on the bed, you must sanitize the bed and any equipment you used, using the disinfecting spray and towel provided.
- Place cloths used for disinfecting in the bin by the door upon exiting a session. They will be laundered and dried on the highest temperature setting possible.