Skip to main content

Student Mistreatment Reporting, Routing, Policy and Investigation

The School of Medicine strives for an environment that is respectful of all community members and does not tolerate mistreatment of students. Per the University Equal Opportunity and Discriminatory Harassment Policy (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 these two University Policies, the School of Medicine Student Mistreatment Policy addresses additional types of behavior that will not be tolerated.

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. Mistreatment 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)

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.

Student Mistreatment Group (SMG)

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 representatives of all programs.

Reporting Mistreatment

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 (preferred) 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 the algorithm below.

Student Mistreatment Algorithm for Investigation - All Emory School of Medicine Programs - student mistreatment is taken very seriously by the School of Medicine, and we are working to improve process, clarity, and outcome. The following alogotrithm describes the decision tree for receiving, adjucating, and communication around student mistreatment reports. In order to better serve students, the School of medicine has created a new student mistreatment group (SMG) to analyze quarterly de-identified mistreatment data submitted through this algorithm. If you have questions, please reach out to Dr. Stacy Higgins, Dr. Christen Hairston, or Dr. Douglas Ander. Steps: 1. Student Reports (Mistreatment form, faculty directors, advisors, deans) 2. Report routed to Associate Dean of Student Success (who will consult with assistant/associate deans for student affairs in Clinical education, medical education and health professions). 3. Is this mistreatment? (mistreatment, either intentional or unintentional, occurs when behavior shows disrespect for the dignity of others and unreasonably interferes with the learning process.) 4. If Yes, the next step is to investigate and follow up with the student, any concern for breaches of title IX or equal opportunity policies will be immediately reported to the appropriate office.); if no, the next step is to address the issue and follow up with the student; if unsure, decide (by investigating) and then follow up with student.

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, 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).

Print as PDF

Last modified: 07/15/2024.