Student Mistreatment Reporting, Routing, Policy and Investigation

Student mistreatment is taken very seriously by the School of Medicine, and we are working to improve process, clarity, and outcome.

To better serve students, there are four new or updated aspects of the Student Mistreatment Reporting for all programs in the School of Medicine:  

1. NEW student mistreatment algorithm that describes the decision tree for receiving, adjudicating, and communicating around student mistreatment reports.
2. NEW student mistreatment group (SMG) to analyze quarterly de-identified mistreatment data submitted through this algorithm,
3. UPDATED student mistreatment form, and
4. UPDATED student mistreatment policy for ALL programs in the School of Medicine.

Definition of Mistreatment:  Mistreatment, either intentional or unintentional, occurs when behavior shows disrespect for the dignity of others and unreasonably interferes with the learning process. 

Scope of School of Medicine Student:  Any student enrolled in active academic programs for Emory School of Medicine including MD, PA, DPT, GC, MI, and AA.

1. Algorithm for reporting student mistreatment and how it is handled
   
   
2. Student Mistreatment Group (SMG)
   

   Purpose:

   The School of Medicine strives for an environment that is respectful of all community members and does not tolerate mistreatment of students. Mistreatment, either intentional or unintentional, occurs when behavior shows disrespect for the dignity of others and unreasonably interferes with the learning process. To this end, the School of Medicine SMG is convened to review the aggregate, deidentified data on reports of student mistreatment that occur in the learning environment and recommend actions to improve the student clinical learning experience.  The SMG will include faculty and staff from Emory School of Medicine and representative of all programs.

3. Student Mistreatment Form
   
   How to report student mistreatment:
   
   Confidentially submit School of Medicine Student Mistreatment Form via Qualtrics. If not comfortable submitting the form, reach out to:
   1. Program Leaders or Deans
   2. Course Director, Preceptor, Faculty Member or Clerkship Director
   3. Small Group Advisors or Program Academic Advisors/Faculty
      

      Student Mistreatment Form Link – UPDATED by Dr. Brownfield, Dr. Higgins, and Dr. Hairston February 2023.

      New form established to provide more thorough data gathering for better reporting.  Improving the outreach via QR code stickers for students’ badges. 

4. Student Mistreatment Policy
   
   Read the student mistreatment policy.
   
   

Student Mistreatment for all School of Medicine Programs

The School of Medicine strives for an environment that is respectful of all community members and does not tolerate mistreatment of students. Emory students are protected by two University Policies as stated in the following two paragraphs. The University Equal Opportunity and Discriminatory Harassment Policy (Policy 1.3) is incorporated into this Policy. Per Policy 1.3, Emory encourages anyone who has knowledge of discrimination on campus to report alleged violations of Policy 1.3 to the Emory University Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. Emory faculty, administrators and supervisors are required to immediately report any complaints they receive or incidents of discrimination or discriminatory harassment they witness, to their immediate report or to the Emory University Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance. Per the Emory University Sex and Gender-Based Harassment and Discrimination Policy (Policy 8.2) every university employee who is informed about an allegation of sexual misconduct involving any student is required to notify the Department of Title IX.

In conjunction with the two University Policies listed above, the School of Medicine Student Mistreatment Policy addresses additional types of behavior that will not be tolerated. Mistreatment of students in the School of Medicine includes, but is not limited to, students:

• Being treated in a manner that a reasonable person would find belittling, humiliating insulting or disrespectful under the circumstances
• Being sexually harassed
• Being denied opportunities for training or rewards, or receiving lower evaluations or grades based on any prohibited consideration, including race, color, religion, ethnic or national origin, gender, genetic information, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, veteran's status, or any factor that is a prohibited consideration under applicable law (referred to as "prohibited considerations")
• Being maliciously and intentionally left out of communications to the detriment of a student
• Being subjected (directly or indirectly) to offensive sexist, racist, or ethnically offensive remarks, advances or names
• Being required to perform inappropriate personal services (i.e., babysitting, shopping)
• Being threatened with physical harm (e.g., hit, slapped, kicked) 

Reporting Mistreatment

Student mistreatment is contrary to the values, respect, civility, and community as set forth in the University's Statement of Ethical Principles. School of Medicine students who experience mistreatment themselves or observe other students experiencing possible mistreatment are expected and encouraged to follow the following reporting process. The initial step is for students to discuss the incident of mistreatment is to either confidentially report via the Student Mistreatment Form or talk to their Program Leader, the Deans, Academic Advisor, Career Counselor, or Small Group Advisor (SGA).

All reports of student mistreatment will be routed first to Dr. Christen Hairston, Associate Dean for Student Success, who will follow algorithm in Section 2.

Prohibition of Retaliation

The School of Medicine prohibits retaliation against a student who, in good faith, complains about or participates in an investigation of student mistreatment. Any student who feels they have been retaliated against or threatened with retaliation should report the allegation immediately to the Associate Dean of Student Success. The appropriate department related to the incident will investigate the alleged retaliation and make a report to the Executive Associate Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs School of Medicine, when possible, within 30 days of the filing of the complaint. While mistreatment issues may be written in student evaluations of residents or faculty and evaluations of courses or clerkships, students should NOT rely on those mechanisms as the primary or sole means to report mistreatment. The reporting mechanisms described above have been established to produce a timely and effective resolution to any mistreatment concerns.

If you have questions about student mistreatment, please reach out to Dr. Stacy Higgins (MD clinical), Dr. Christen Hairston (Student Success-All programs), or Dr. Douglas Ander (Health Science Programs).