Substandard medical student professional behavior is identified by:
Faculty interacting with student
Staff, patient or another student interacting with student, in which case the initial report is made to a faculty member, course director, or directly to the Chair of the Professionalism Committee if the behavior is observed outside the realm of a “course.”
the Honor Council if it determines that an alleged Honor Code violation is a professionalism issue
The faculty member meets with student, provides feedback, and has a discussion.
To document the feedback discussion, a Professionalism Feedback Form is filled out by the faculty member and submitted. (NOTE: The faculty member completing the form should give direct feedback to the student prior to submitting the form.)
On a separate student response form, the student acknowledges the feedback discussion and is given an opportunity to submit their comments as well.
The Professionalism Feedback Form is reviewed by the Chair of the Student Professionalism Committee, along with any previous Feedback Forms for the student in order to track patterns of behavior over time.
If the behavior relates to classroom absences, lack of timely completion of school requirements (including evaluations), or needing reminders for fulfillment of responsibilities, and is not a documented repeated behavior, the Chair of the Professionalism Committee may choose to follow up with the student individually rather than referring the matter to the Professionalism Committee for review. The Chair will provide the Professionalism Committee with an update on the number and general content of these Feedback Forms at each committee meeting.
If the behavior relates to the Honor Code, the Professionalism Committee Chair confers with the Chair of the Honor Council and refers the matter to the Honor Council. The issue cannot be referred to both simultaneously.
Otherwise, the Chair of the Professionalism Committee refers the matter to the full Professionalism Committee for review. The Professionalism Committee will review the current and any prior Feedback Forms for the student and determine next steps which may include (but are not limited to):
Requiring the student to provide additional written responses, meet with the Chair or the Committee, or engage in formative activities
Requesting additional information from the involved faculty/staff/peers
Remediation plan development
Referral to Promotion’s Committee when the behavior is egregious
Once the Professionalism Committee determines that a remediation plan is needed, the Committee collaboratively develops a remediation plan based on the Feedback Forms and information gathered from meeting with the student (if necessary).
The Chair communicates the remediation plan to the student in writing.
A copy of the plan and related feedback forms is submitted to Student Affairs for tracking purposes and inclusion in Promotions Committee reviews, as well as Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE) letters.
If the remediation plan is successfully completed, an update is provided to Student Affairs.
If there is a pattern of recidivism, or the student fails to complete the remediation plan, the matter is referred to the Promotions Committee.
In the case where students are referred to the Promotions Committee, the Professionalism Committee will remain available to assist in the development of further remediation plans when deemed appropriate by the Promotions Committee.
Notice is provided to the faculty who submitted the Feedback Form as to the nature of the follow-up (no further action required vs. referral to Professionalism Committee or Promotion’s Committee) as well as ultimate completion of the remediation plan (if applicable).
Feedback Forms/comments are maintained in a secure electronic system accessible by the Chair of the Professionalism Committee as well as the Associate Dean for Student Life.
Materials will be destroyed upon graduation, or may be held for a maximum of 5 years at the discretion of the Associate Dean of Student Life.
