COVID-19 Response
The School of Medicine & Health Sciences is actively monitoring the coronavirus pandemic, also known as COVID-19.
Learn more about UND's Smart Restart plan at UND.edu/covid-19.
SMHS Exposure & Quarantine Guidelines
UND Guidelines
UND pandemic guidelines recently have been updated (COVID-19 Updates | University of North Dakota (und.edu)) and include the following overview:
Masks are required in the public spaces of the following buildings: academic buildings, administrative buildings, the Chester Fritz Library, Student Health Services, and the University Children’s Learning Center. This includes Wilkerson Commons and the Memorial Union, except when one is eating in those facilities. University business conducted in non-university facilities, such as admissions activities at the Gorecki Center, are also covered by this requirement.
Masks are strongly encouraged in all other public spaces. These include facilities such as residence hall common areas, campus apartment common areas, the Wellness Center, and athletic facilities. When meetings are scheduled in residence hall common areas, masks will be required.
Event scheduling: To host an SMHS-related event, whether on capus or virtually, please follow this procedure.
UND SMHS Guidelines Effective August 23, 2021
Because of the potential negative impact of viral spread on vulnerable individuals/patients who may come in contact with UND healthcare providers or learners, the UND SMHS promulgated additional guidance on June 1, 2021 that was, in some regards, more proscriptive than that of UND. The expectations regarding mask usage and related mitigation steps currently in effect remain unchanged, and are as follows:
- Masks will continue to be required while in the UND SMHS building on the Northeast (Grand Forks) campus, as well as in SMHS buildings on the Southeast (Fargo), Southwest (Bismarck), and Northwest (Minot) regional campuses. As before, masks need not be worn when the individual is indoors in one of these facilities when alone in an otherwise unoccupied office with the door closed, or when eating alone in a public area. Wearing a mask is required in all other circumstances. While the physical distancing requirement no longer will apply in those buildings, it still is encouraged to the extent possible.
- UND faculty, staff, or students who expect to have (or might have) direct patient contact (including with standardized
patients) at some point in the subsequent 30-day period (whether through direct patient
care delivery or in educational activities) are expected to wear masks when indoors
(as specified above) at all other non-SMHS locations and sites (including when traveling)
when they are present in an official UND role.
- Accordingly, approval for events (non-curricular activities) as defined by UND as all group activities, public lectures, symposiums, workshops, trainings, conferences, concerts, orientations, internships/co-ops and other campus activities will continue to require approval through both the UND SMHS as well as the UND Office of Safety (UND Event Approval Form). The key determining factor for approval by the School will be whether the 30-day rule (above) would be violated by holding the proposed event. (Additional helpful information is available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at Considerations for Events and Gatherings).
- Similarly, approval for UND-related travel will continue to be required for faculty, staff, residents, and students engaging in travel (in the case of students, travel that is not part of scheduled curricular content) who may have direct patient contact within the 30-day period. As before, travel by faculty, staff, residents, and students that involves reimbursement will continue to require pre-approval as per UND policy.
- The UND SMHS will continue to recognize the option of faculty employing virtual and hybrid classes and employees utilizing remote work arrangements subject to UND and UND SMHS policy and procedures.
- Restrictions while students are on clinical rotations will follow the guidelines of the sponsoring institution, although the UND mask requirement
will apply regardless.
- Away clinical rotations for medical students will follow the guidelines of the Coalition for Physician Accountability unless otherwise specified by the UND SMHS.
- Activities in specialized spaces within UND SMHS facilities, as before, may be subject to additional restrictions and/or approval process. Specialized spaces include the gross anatomy lab, the therapy labs, the physical examination practice rooms, and the Simulation Center.
At least for now, the following previously adopted requirements no longer are in effect:
- Physical distancing when indoors no longer is required, although it still is encouraged to the extent possible.
- Approval for UND-related travel by students, faculty, and staff with no possibility of direct patient contact as described above no longer is required. As before, travel by faculty, staff, residents, and students that involves reimbursement will continue to require pre-approval as per UND policy.
Resources specific to the UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences will be posted on this page and will change as the pandemic continues.
Updated: September 5, 2021
SMHS COVID Response
Project ECHO: COVID-19
Update and Infection Prevention and Control Methods
- Presenter: Paul Carson, M.D.
- Login required. Contact Julie Reiten for assistance.
Project ECHO: COVID-19
Provider Well-Being During COVID-19
- Presenter: Andrew McLean, M.D.
- Login required. Contact Julie Reiten for assistance.
The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences (UND SMHS) Deeded Body Program resumed accepting whole body donations on a limited basis on March 1, 2021. For a complete guide to donors specifics, please visit our UND SMHS Deeded Body Program website.
Resources for faculty who are teaching online:
- Going Online in a Hurry (Chronicle of Higher Education)
- Basic Teaching Strategies and Their Online Translations
- Instructional Design
- Teaching & Learning Resource Repository
Contact the UND Teaching, Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA) for assistance with:
Information Resources has compiled a variety of Remote Access options to help faculty, staff and students during this time. Information Resources can also help with questions regarding Mediasite and Sharepoint.
Library Resources has compiled a research guide with information pertinent to the COVID-19 pandemic. This page includes information about the ways in which librarians can supplement your online courses, as well as links to information made free by a variety of scholarly publishers and information to help keep you healthy as you transition to a new work environment.
Do you have a question? Please Ask a Librarian!
Consistent with University guidance for University staff, Program Directors will inform residents/fellows about their expectations in the event that residents/fellows experience illness including:
- If residents/fellows feel sick, they should notify their immediate supervisor and Program Director and go home.
- Residents/Fellows should not try to “tough it out” and continue working if feeling ill.
- Instead of taking leave, the preference is for residents/fellows to work from home such as studying for an in-service exam or board certification, research, etc.; however, work from home is at the discretion of the Program Director and resident/fellow.
Questions or concerns should be referred to Kim Becker.
For anyone who is interested, Dr. Andrew McLean, chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, adapted a presentation called Resilience to address COVID.
Imaging Core
The Imaging Core is instituting the following new policies designed to minimize person-to-person contact and to maintain a safe environment for users and staff. If you have questions, please contact either Sarah Abrahamson or Bryon Grove.
- Training of new users is being curtailed until activity on the UND campus returns to normal. As an alternative, those individuals who need microscopy data for their research will be able to submit samples to Sarah Abrahamson and have the core staff collect the images for them. Please contact Sarah Abrahamson or Dr. Grove to make arrangements.
- For trained users who have straightforward microscopy work to do, we strongly recommend that they also arrange to have core staff collect their microscopy data. Again please contact Sarah Abrahamson or Dr. Grove to make these arrangements.
- If trained core users have complex microscopy work that requires them to use the equipment, they must contact Sarah Abrahamson or Dr. Grove beforehand so that we can ensure that they are aware of the safety and decontamination procedures we have put in place. Users will be required to wear gloves, provided by the core facility, when handling the microscopy equipment and they must notify core facility staff when they are done so that the equipment can be decontaminated.
Please note that a remote session utilizing Zoom is a viable option for most of our equipment. Users will be able to see both the staff member and the equipment screen, which will allow them to guide the staff member during image collection.
Genomics Core
The Genomics Core facility will remain open for business for new and ongoing projects. However, it is taking steps to minimize person-to-person contact and to maintain a safe environment for users and staff.
- Until further notice, it is not allowing any personal sample drop-off to core labs. All samples need to be submitted in the drop-off freezer. In case you are not familiar with the location of the drop-off freezer, feel free to email Core Director Bony DeKumar for directions.
- All one-on-one and group meetings to discuss data analysis and project discussion will be scheduled through Zoom.
- Please email queries about a letter of support, budget and technical questions for a grant proposal or any other questions to Bony DeKumar.
It is possible that some services may be delayed due to logistics of ordering and shipping reagents and samples. We are making every effort to eliminate any negative impacts of the current situation and we are looking forward to helping everyone maintain their research productivity.
FAQs
This bill had two intents: 1) to target dollars to students who are most at risk financially, so they used the number of Pell grant recipients to determine what dollars went where, and 2) since one of the challenges in many institutions was the shift to online education, they targeted the dollars to the institutions that had to make more of a shift to online. UND was doing more online instruction than NDSU. The percentage according to the federal government was 26% at UND purely online and only 11% at NDSU. Thus NDUS received more CARES funding.
The CARES Act Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund-IHE/Student Aid provides funding to institutions to provide emergency financial aid grants to students. Furthermore, institutions have the responsibility of determining how grants will be distributed to students and how the amount of each student grant is calculated. As stated above, institutions are responsible for determining awards; UND main campus financial aid awarded emergency grant funding to undergraduate students. Medical (and graduate/law) students were not awarded emergency grants.
Absolutely! We’ve focused on virtual care in the past, but we can do more. Dr. Wynne invites all faculty to design curricula for all students that helps better prepare them for these public health threats.
Yes, when interacting with others. Please refer to UND's Smart Restart Plan.
UND has implemented a hiring "chill" at this time, meaning hires are not prohibited but must be justified as necessary at this time.
No. The learning objectives, content and credits earned (where applicable) remain the same, and is no cheaper to deliver online.
There are many funding sources being considered for reimbursement of some COVID expenses. The School will report these expenses to the State Board of Higher Education and the state Legislature. While the end result is uncertain at this time, it's easier to keep track now than to have to go back and calculate later.
The State Board of Higher Education has temporarily waived the requirement of standardized test scores (i.e., ACT, SAT) through the summer of 2022.
UND defers to the Canadian Border Services Agency regarding who can cross the border into the U.S. If Canadian students are unable to cross the border this fall, their enrollment may be deferred one semester. Please check with UND Admissions for more information.
Dining Services has created a Quarantine/Isolation Order form.
According to UND Human Resources, for as long as a large number of staff are working remotely or until the UND Executive Council reverses its earlier decision to implement them.
Departments are free to tailor productivity reports specifically to their areas. Some ask for the percentage of time spent on COVID tasks. According to UND Human Resources, that data may be requested at a later date to potentially garner federal money from FEMA or the CARES Act, for example.
See the instructions for hosting events during the pandemic at the top of this page.
Generally, you are encouraged to convert your in-person event to a virtual format. Virtual events don't require UND SMHS approval, but do require submission of the UND Event Approval Form.
Off-campus events still require UND VP approval, but do not require an Event Approval Form.
According to the Office of Student Affairs & Admissions, there will be no changes to the prerequisites in 2021. However, the interviews will be conducted virtually instead of in person.
Updated 9/6//2021