You are on your way to a mandatory clinical session, and you notice you'll be late, what do you do?

Being late to a mandatory clinical session is not the end of the world, but you need to make sure you communicate this to the relevant tutors as soon as possible. You should also notify the clinic of your lateness so they can change patient appointments if needed. You should handle this situation well to show your professionalism.

If you were drafting an email to your tutor, here is what you should mention:

• Estimated time of arrival
• Apology for the inconvenience this may have caused to the patient
• The tone of the email should be that of accountability

Upon arriving to the clinic, make sure you apologise in person to your tutors and your patients (if they were scheduled in for today). This shows your honesty and accountability. It also shows that you are respectful of their time.

You also want to reflect on your experience to prevent the situation from happening again.