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Summary of LEAC concerns and actions - 1/1/2022 - 3/31/2022

Since the 2020-21 academic year, the LEAC committee has used a process for reviewing and addressing reports received for review by the LEAC committee. 

Beginning with this current academic year, the committee categorizes learning environment concerns into five categories:

  • A: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were reviewed, founded, and egregious.
  • B: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were reviewed, founded, and not egregious. 
  • C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found.
  • D: Insufficient information to follow up on the incident.
  • E: Unprofessional Behaviors that are not a learning environment violation were reported. 

For the January 1 through March 31, 2022 period, the LEAC committee reviewed and acted on nine concerns that were received through BEACON and ONE45.  

The summary of concerns includes 1 Category A concern, 2 Category B concerns, and 6 Category C concerns. The curricular areas where the concerns were raised included: Internal Medicine Clerkship (2), Pediatric Clerkship (2), Surgery Clerkship (1), Family Medicine Clerkship (1), Basic Science (1), Clinical Skills (1), and Research (1) .

  1. One concern was a faculty member who criticized a student’s presentation and was deemed Category A: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were reviewed, founded, and egregious. Dr. Criss, the faculty member, and the student shared a conversation about the concern that included the attending’s remarks to the student. The attending thought the student was a resident. The student did not return to this service. Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC.
  2. One concern was about a faculty member where the student felt the interaction involved mistreatment described as “belittlement and humiliation” and was deemed Category B: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were reviewed, founded, and not egregious.  The clerkship director discussed this with the faculty member, who agreed to review his teaching style. Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC.
  3. A student reported concerns about multiple faculty mentors, which were deemed Category B: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were reviewed, founded, and not egregious. Dr. Knight addressed the issues with the dean responsible for this domain, who addressed the concerns with the team members. Dr. Knight reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC. 
  4. One concern was about a faculty member, but limited information was provided and was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. The clerkship director reviewed the case with the attending, and Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC.  
  5. One concern was about a faculty member’s interaction with the student and was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. The clerkship director spoke to the attending, and recommendations were made for the TEACH program to work with the faculty member to improve teaching skills. Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC.
  6. A student reported concerns about several faculty mentors and raised concerns that the mentors' interactions with students differed from previous positive interactions. The concern was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. Dr. Pauly reported back to the LEAC.
  7. A student reported concerns about a faculty mentor’s interaction with students. The concern was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. The associate dean  discussed the student's concern with the faculty member. Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC. 
  8. A student reported concerns about a faculty member’s lateness in arriving for the session. The concern was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. The Clerkship Director addressed the issue with the faculty member and asked that if the faculty member were delayed, the faculty member would notify the coordinator so a message could be sent to the students. Dr. Criss reported the outcome of the intervention to the LEAC. 
  9. A student reported concerns about a faculty member’s lengthy lectures that prevented a student from attending to their other responsibilities. The concern was deemed Category C: Mistreatment or Unprofessional Behaviors were not found. Dr. Criss addressed this issue with the faculty member, who decided to create two shorter lectures to cover the material. Dr. Criss reported back to the LEAC.