116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1271 

AN ACT 

To establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs a pilot 

program instituting a clinical observation program for 

pre-med students preparing to attend medical school. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans-Specific Edu3 cation for Tomorrow’s Health Professionals Act’’ or the 

4 ‘‘Vet HP Act’’. 

5 SEC. 2. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING DEPARTMENT OF 

6 VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PROGRAM FOR 

7 CLINICAL OBSERVATION BY UNDER8 GRADUATE STUDENTS. 

9 It is the sense of Congress that the pilot program 

10 described in section 3(a) should be designed to— 

11 (1) increase the awareness, knowledge, and em12 pathy of future health professionals toward the 

13 health conditions common to veterans; 

14 (2) increase the diversity of the recruitment 

15 pool of future physicians of the Department; and 

16 (3) expand clinical observation opportunities for 

17 all students by encouraging students of all back18 grounds to consider a career in the health profes19 sions. 

20 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PILOT PRO21 GRAM FOR CLINICAL OBSERVATION BY UN22 DERGRADUATE STUDENTS. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

24 Affairs shall carry out a pilot program for a one-year pe25 riod, beginning not later than August 15, 2021, to provide 

26 certain students described in subsection (d) a clinical ob-
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1 servation experience at medical centers of the Department 

2 of Veterans Affairs. 

3 (b) MEDICAL CENTER SELECTION.—The Secretary 

4 shall carry out the pilot program under this section at not 

5 fewer than five medical centers of the Department. In se6 lecting such medical centers, the Secretary shall ensure 

7 regional diversity among such selected medical centers. 

8 (c) CLINICAL OBSERVATION SESSIONS.— 

9 (1) FREQUENCY AND DURATION.—In carrying 

10 out the pilot program, the Secretary shall— 

11 (A) provide at least one and not more than 

12 three clinical observation sessions at each med13 ical center selected during each calendar year; 

14 (B) ensure that each clinical observation 

15 session— 

16 (i) lasts between four and six months; 

17 and 

18 (ii) to the extent practicable, begins 

19 and ends concurrently with one or more 

20 academic terms of an institution of higher 

21 education (as defined in section 101 of the 

22 Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 

23 1001)); and 
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1 (C) ensure that the clinical observation 

2 sessions provided at a medical center have mini3 mal overlap. 

4 (2) SESSIONS.—The Secretary shall ensure that 

5 the pilot program consists of clinical observation ses6 sions as follows: 

7 (A) Each session shall allow for not fewer 

8 than five students nor greater than 15 students 

9 to participate in the session. 

10 (B) Each session shall consist of not fewer 

11 than 20 observational hours nor greater than 

12 40 observational hours. 

13 (C) A majority of the observational hours 

14 shall be spent observing a health professional. 

15 The other observational hours shall be spent in 

16 a manner that ensures a robust, well rounded 

17 experience that exposes the students to a vari18 ety of aspects of medical care and health care 

19 administration. 

20 (D) Each session shall provide a diverse 

21 clinical observation experience. 

22 (d) STUDENTS.— 

23 (1) SELECTION.—The Secretary shall select to 

24 participate in the pilot program under subsection (a) 

25 students who are— 
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1 (A) nationals of the United States; 

2 (B) enrolled in an accredited program of 

3 study at an institution of higher education; and 

4 (C) referred by their institution of higher 

5 education following an internal application proc6 ess. 

7 (2) PRIORITY.—In making such selection, the 

8 Secretary shall give priority to each of the following 

9 five categories of students: 

10 (A) Students who, at the time of the com11 pletion of their secondary education, resided in 

12 a health professional shortage area (as defined 

13 in section 332 of the Public Health Service Act 

14 (42 U.S.C. 254e)). 

15 (B) First generation college students (as 

16 defined in section 402A(h)(3) of the Higher 

17 Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 

18 (C) Students who have been referred by 

19 minority-serving institutions (as defined in sec20 tion 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 

21 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q(a))). 

22 (D) Veterans (as defined in section 101 of 

23 title 38, United States Code). 

24 (E) Students who indicate an intention to 

25 specialize in a health professional occupation 
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1 identified by the Inspector General of the De2 partment under section 7412 of title 38, United 

3 States Code, as having a staffing shortage. 

4 (3) ASSIGNMENT TO MEDICAL CENTERS.—The 

5 Secretary shall assign students selected under para6 graph (1) to medical centers selected under sub7 section (b) without regard for whether such medical 

8 centers have staffing shortages in any health profes9 sional occupation pursuant to section 7412 of title 

10 38, United States Code. 

11 (e) OTHER MATTERS.—In carrying out the pilot pro12 gram under this section, the Secretary shall— 

13 (1) establish a formal status to facilitate the ac14 cess to medical centers of the Department by stu15 dent observers participating in the pilot program; 

16 (2) establish standardized legal, privacy, and 

17 ethical requirements for the student observers, in18 cluding with respect to— 

19 (A) ensuring that no student observer pro20 vides any care to patients while participating as 

21 an observer; and 

22 (B) ensuring the suitability of a student to 

23 participate in the pilot program to ensure that 

24 the student poses no risk to patients; 
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1 (3) develop and implement a partnership strat2 egy with minority-serving institutions to encourage 

3 referrals; 

4 (4) create standardized procedures for student 

5 observers; 

6 (5) create an online information page about the 

7 pilot program on the internet website of the Depart8 ment; 

9 (6) publish on the online information page cre10 ated under paragraph (5) the locations of such cen11 ters, and other information on the pilot program, 

12 not later than 180 days before the date on which ap13 plications are required to be submitted by potential 

14 student observers; 

15 (7) identify medical centers and specific health 

16 professionals participating in the pilot program; and 

17 (8) notify the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 

18 of the House of Representatives and the Senate of 

19 the medical centers selected under subsection (c) 

20 within 30 days of selection, to facilitate program 

21 awareness. 

22 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after the com23 pletion of the pilot program under subsection (a), the Sec24 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 
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1 of the House of Representatives and the Senate a report 

2 on the results of the pilot program, including— 

3 (1) the number and demographics of all appli4 cants, those accepted to participate in the pilot pro5 gram, and those who completed the pilot program; 

6 and 

7 (2) if participating institutions of higher edu8 cation choose to administer satisfaction surveys that 

9 assess the experience of those who completed the 

10 pilot program, the results of any such satisfaction 

11 surveys, provided at the discretion of the institution 

12 of higher education. 

13 SEC. 4. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED. 

14 No additional funds are authorized to be appro15 priated to carry out the requirements of this Act. Such 

16 requirements shall be carried out using amounts otherwise 

17 authorized to be appropriated. 

Passed the House of Representatives March 5, 

2019. 

Attest: 

Clerk. 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1271 

AN ACT 

To establish in the Department of Veterans Affairs 

tend medical school. program for pre-med students preparing to ata pilot program instituting a clinical observation