Procedures for Handling Breaches of Ethical and Professional Behavioral Standards

Violations of this Policy will be handled as follows:

1. Who May File
   Complaints about possible breaches of ethical and professional behavior may be initiated by individuals within the College or Department/Section (students, faculty, staff, and administration) or by external sources (patients, families, visitors, extramural rotation sites, other agencies with which a student has had contact). If reported elsewhere, the initial complaint should be promptly forwarded to the student’s program director or assistant/associate dean of student affairs or directly to the Dean of the College. The formal complaint must be in writing, with a brief description of the evidence, and submitted within 10 University business days after discovery of the incident, exclusive of University breaks and academic intercessions.
2. Complaints Review and Investigation, Sanctions
   Any egregious unethical or unprofessional behavior must be reported to the Dean and could result in the student’s being immediately suspended or dismissed from the program. Examples of egregious or unprofessional behavior would include but are not limited to patient endangerment, unacceptable patient management, and inappropriate alteration of patient records, or behavior that poses a danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of or disruption of the academic process. The Dean must consult with the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Legal Counsel and other officials as appropriate to determine if the matter should proceed under other applicable University policies. Should the Dean take the immediate action of suspending or dismissing a student from the program, the student may request a hearing under the Academic Appeals Board process, as described in Section 3 below.
   
   For less egregious unethical and unprofessional behavior, rather than filing a formal complaint about professional behavior, the faculty member or program director may conclude (but is not required to conclude) that the incident is more appropriately treated as an instructional rather than a disciplinary matter. In such cases, the faculty member or program director will contact the student directly to discuss the issue, provide feedback, and make suggestions for how the behavior at issue can be improved. If the faculty member or program director believes that an effective resolution resulted from meeting with the student, no further action is required. The incident shall be documented in the student’s file and may be used in the future, where applicable, to indicate a pattern, practice, failure to benefit from redirection.
   
   In the event that the faculty member or program director determines that giving the student feedback about issues of concern was not successful in resolving the issue or if the behavior is of a significant or serious nature (but not warranting immediate suspension or dismissal), a Professionalism Concerns Report (PCR) will be completed by the faculty member or program director. The focus of this PCR process is educational, with the goal of helping the health professions student move forward successfully in coursework, clinical practice experience, and interactions within the Health Sciences Center community.
   
   A PCR must be filed with the college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs within 10 University business days from the time the behavior was observed or reported, exclusive of University breaks and academic intercessions.
   
   Following receipt of the PCR, the college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs will meet with the student to discuss ways in which the unprofessional behavior can be improved, thus allowing the student adequate opportunity to make appropriate behavioral changes. The student will be asked to sign the PCR to acknowledge that the PCR has been reviewed and may respond to the PCR by providing additional written information. The college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs may require remedial action, such as a corrective action plan, mandated counseling, or probationary status, which shall be noted on the PCR. The PCR is then forwarded to the college Dean and to the Graduate College Dean, if applicable.
   
   In the event that a student fails on three occasions to meet the expected standards of ethical and professional conduct as documented by PCRs and/or documentation in the student’s file, the assistant/associate dean of student affairs or if appropriate, the Graduate College Dean, has the option to place the student on probation, suspend the student, or dismiss the student, depending on the nature of the student’s behavior. Prior to any such action, the student affairs dean, Graduate College Dean, or other appropriate administrator will meet with the student, identify the concerns, identify the anticipated action, and provide the student an opportunity to present his/her version of events leading to the situation. Within 3 days of such meeting, the student will be provided notice of the action taken. If dissatisfied with the action taken, the student may request a hearing in accordance with Section 3 below.
3. Appeal Process
   Students who are dismissed or suspended from their program may request a hearing under the OUHSC Academic Appeals Policy (Section 4.16 of the OUHSC Faculty Handbook).
   
   A student may not appeal an action taken simply because he/she does not agree with it. (Regents, 12-1-11)

For more information, please consult the OUHSC Student Handbook at: http://studenthandbook.ouhsc.edu/