Instructions
Getting Started
The Via Learning Management System (VLMS) is fast, taking approximately 20 seconds per entry;
efficient, for it continuously evaluates your status during a rotation; and is a critical part of
your portfolio and maintaining the school’s accreditation.
Log in to VLMS using your school email address and the password you were assigned for this project;
change your password after your first login.
Adjust your Rotation and Site or change your password as needed via the ‘Account’ option under the
triple-bar icon in the upper left of pages. You can also tap the pencil on the main screen or the
Rotation / Site indicator on the Patient Encounters screen.
Clarifying Requirements
VLMS was created by VCOM to improve student clinical training and assessment, and meet new medical
school accreditation requirements.
Student Requirements:
- All OMS third-year students are required to log their clinical experiences
(patient encounters and procedures) in all rotations excluding the research rotation. There are
no minimum or maximum encounters to log. All clinical experiences MUST be logged on the day in
which they occurred.
- All OMS fourth-year students are required to log their emergency medicine
clinical experiences on the day in which they occurred.
- Preceptors must affirm that they have reviewed student’s VLMS entries and logs while determining
their evaluation.
- VCOM administration will only assign a grade after reviewing student entries and digitally
signed logs in VLMS and having received Preceptor Evaluations.
- If you are absent from your rotation due to sickness, conferences, or otherwise, students are
required to complete and submit an Excused Absence Clinical Rotations Approval form for any time
“away” from clinical rotations. Provide the approved and signed Excused Absence form to your
site coordinator.
- Final submission of VLMS logs are due by 5:00 PM ET on the day of the end of
rotation exam.
All fourth-year students are required to log all their patient encounters. Also, students may
complete their OMM Experience Logs which are now in the VLMS Dashboard.
When, Where, and How You Should Be Logging
- Entry into VLMS is the responsibility of each student. Log ALL patients you encounter,
regardless of how many patients you see.
- Logging with VLMS should be done on breaks or after your shift, for your full attention should
be on your patient and your preceptor during rounds.
- You may utilize EMR systems to identify codes, for all entries are about your ability to
document using the VLMS system.
- You are encouraged to discuss diagnoses, procedures, and coding with your Preceptor to assist
you in making VLMS entries.
Fulfilling Rotation and OMM Log Objectives and Preceptor Evaluations
The objectives listed in Rotation and OMM Logs defined by the school can be fulfilled by an
appropriate clinical diagnosis or procedural experience (via an entry, logged ICD code). As clinical
experiences are logged, they will be automatically checked off. An objective can also be fulfilled
by a Reading or Lecture as entered by the student.
For first- and second-year students, and International Outreach students, the appropriate faculty
will review your entries.
Logging Clinical Experiences
For EVERY patient encounter, please create a new encounter entry. This begins with specifying a New
Patient, and providing patient sex and age, the encounter environment by selecting either “Hospital”
(inpatient), “Ambulatory” (outpatient), or “Didactic” (theoretical) and any free text notes. Save
this.
Then add a Primary Diagnosis for this patient encounter, an optional note, save it, and then you can
enter additional diagnoses, procedures, and drugs (via ICD code descriptions) that are associated
with that primary diagnosis for a given patient encounter. Please only enter the diagnoses,
procedures and history pertinent to this patient encounter, not all from previous encounters or
history.
There are several entry methods: Keyword Search, Hierarchical Categories, Smart Suggest, and Recent
Codes. Most students use the Keyword Search to enter a diagnosis; alternatively Smart Suggest Codes
provides a list of the most frequent diagnoses encountered in each rotation. Since procedures and
drugs are associated with a given Primary Diagnosis (and additional diagnoses that can be added),
Smart Suggest then includes the most frequent procedures or drugs associated with a given diagnosis.
During a rotation, you may see patients that are similar; speed your entries using ‘Recent Entries.’
For each diagnosis or procedure entry, you must input at least three digits of specificity; when
searching, more digits may automatically be provided. You can enter more specificity than three
digits if you desire.
After each diagnosis or procedure entry, they are automatically checked to see if they qualify to
fulfill an object in the Rotation and OMM Logs for your rotation, and if so, you will be notified.
You can also go to the Logs page of the dashboard to review your progress.
Optionally enter notes for patients, diagnoses, procedures or drugs; never enter any Patient
Identifiable Information (PII). Rotation can help your recall of a case to discuss with your
preceptor, and help those studying your entries to identify possible new diseases, traits, public
health issues, etc…
Once you have submitted all the diagnoses, procedures, and drugs for a given patient encounter, you
can enter a new patient, or go back to the list of patient encounters, where you can review and also
edit any of your previous patient encounters.
Using the Dashboard
Review, interact, and edit your Rotation and OMM Logs, diagnosis, procedure, and drug entries from
the My Entries page in the Dashboard.
In the Dashboard you can review the summary sheet for each rotation, which is part of the Rotation
Log for each rotation. That sheet summarizes the number of patients you encountered, quantifies the
variety of diagnoses and procedures you experienced. The Rotation and OMM Logs, and summary must be
shown and discussed with your Preceptor prior to them completing their evaluation.
The Rotation and OMM Logs, My Entries, and other functions in the dashboard are particularly useful
for you to review your progress, and to stimulate learning dialogs between you and your preceptor.
Use the ‘Support’ option on the right menu to review instructions, view the getting started video,
ask questions, report bugs, usability issues, and suggestions.
You can access pages that provide statistics for the entire school and your peers.
