Teacher-Learner Expectations

(AAMC Teacher-Learner Expectations)

The School holds in high regard professional behaviors and attitudes, including altruism, integrity, respect for others and a commitment to excellence. Effective learning is best fostered in an environment of mutual respect between teachers and learners. In the context of medical education the term “teacher” is used broadly to include peers, resident physicians, full-time and volunteer faculty members, clinical preceptors, nurses, and ancillary support staff, as well as others from whom students learn. 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES: 

Duty: Medical educators have a duty to convey the knowledge and skills required for delivering the profession‘s standard of care and also to instill the values and attitudes required for preserving the medical profession‘s social contract with its patients. 

Integrity: Learning environments that are conducive to conveying professional values must be based on integrity. Students and residents learn professionalism by observing and emulating role models who epitomize authentic professional values and attitudes. 

Respect: Respect for every individual is fundamental to the ethic of medicine. Mutual respect is essential for nurturing that ethic. Teachers have a special obligation to ensure that students and residents are always treated respectfully. 

RESPONSIBILITIES OF TEACHERS AND LEARNERS: 

Teachers should: 

• Treat students fairly and respectfully
• Maintain high professional standards in all interactions 
• Be prepared and on time
• Provide relevant and timely information 
• Provide explicit learning and behavioral expectations early in a course or clerkship
• Provide timely, focused, accurate and constructive feedback on a regular basis and thoughtful and timely evaluations at the end of a course or clerkship
• Display honesty, integrity and compassion 
• Practice insightful (Socratic) questioning, which stimulates learning and self-discovery, and avoid overly aggressive questioning which may be perceived as hurtful, humiliating, degrading or punitive 
• Solicit feedback from students regarding their perception of their educational experiences 
• Encourage students who experience mistreatment or who witness unprofessional behavior to report the facts immediately 

Students should: 

• Be courteous of teachers and fellow students 
• Be prepared and on time
•  Be active, enthusiastic, curious learners 
• Demonstrate professional behavior in all settings 
• Recognize that not all learning stems from formal and structured activities 
• Recognize their responsibility to establish learning objectives and to participate as an active learner 
• Demonstrate a commitment to life-long learning, a practice that is essential to the profession of medicine 
• Recognize personal limitations and seek help as needed 
• Display honesty, integrity and compassion
• Recognize the privileges and responsibilities coming from the opportunity to work with patients in clinical settings 
• Recognize the duty to place patient welfare above their own
• Recognize and respect patients’ rights to privacy 
• Solicit feedback on their performance and recognize that criticism is not synonymous with “abuse”

Relationships between Teachers and Students 

Students and teachers should recognize the special nature of the teacher-learner relationship which is in part defined by professional role modeling, mentorship, and supervision. 

Because of the special nature of this relationship, students and teachers should strive to develop their relationship to one characterized by mutual trust, acceptance and confidence. They should both recognize the potential for conflict of interest and respect appropriate boundaries.

MISTREATMENT POLICY

Definition of Mistreatment

Certain behaviors are clearly antithetical to a productive learning environment and are classified as mistreatment of students. Mistreatment of students includes but is not limited to disclosing confidential student information; public humiliation and other actions that can be reasonably interpreted as demeaning or humiliating; sexual harassment (including unwelcome sexual remarks or jokes); inappropriate comments about student’s dress, ethnicity or sexual orientation; physical aggression (including pushing, shoving, or other intentional inappropriate physical contact) or the threat of physical aggression; unjustified exclusion from reasonable learning opportunities; and other unfair treatment of students. Mistreatment of students can result in disciplinary action of the offender. These policies as outlined are in compliance with the CCNY Academic Affairs Integrity Process and are not meant to supersede or supplant CUNY policy.

Policy and Procedure for Reporting Alleged Mistreatment and Unprofessional Behavior

All reports of alleged mistreatment will be monitored and tracked by the Office of Student Affairs by the procedures described below:

Contemporaneous allegations of mistreatment/unprofessional behavior

If students encounter mistreatment and/or unprofessional behavior, it must be addressed immediately. They have non-anonymous and anonymous mechanisms to report mistreatment/unprofessional behavior.

Non-Anonymous reporting:  Students may talk to the course/clerkship director, who will try to resolve the issue. The course or clerkship director will report the issue to the Office of Student Affairs. If the course/clerkship director is unable to resolve the issue, the student and/or the course/clerkship director will report it to the Office of Student Affairs. The student always has the option to report directly to the Office of Student Affairs, either in person or via email at the address mistreatment@med.cuny.edu.  The Office of Student Affairs will report issues to the appropriate course/clerkship director, the department chair, and the Assistant Dean charged with that area of the curriculum to investigate and address. When the issue is resolved, a report will be made to the Office of Student Affairs.

Anonymous reporting: Students may report instances of mistreatment via an online reporting system

(https://www.ccny.cuny.edu/csom/mistreatment-policy).   They will have the option to provide their name, or they may report anonymously. The Office of Student Affairs monitors and reports issues to the appropriate course/clerkship director, the department chair, and/or the Assistant Dean charged with that area of the curriculum to investigate and address. When the issue is resolved, a report will be made to the Office of Student Affairs.

Course/clerkship directors must report allegations of mistreatment/unprofessional behavior as soon as possible, but no more than five working days after the report.

Allegations of mistreatment/unprofessional behavior reported in end-of-experience evaluations

Students are asked explicitly about their experiences with mistreatment and unprofessional behavior in every course, clerkship, and clinical experience evaluation.  Reported instances are highlighted and given immediately to the course/clerkship director, appropriate personnel at the site of the mistreatment/unprofessional behavior, the Assistant Dean charged with that area of the curriculum, the department chair and the Office of Student Affairs. The Office of Student Affairs is charged with ensuring the issue is addressed in a timely fashion.

Resolutions of allegations of mistreatment/unprofessional behavior

Those engaging in mistreatment/unprofessional behavior may be disciplined, up to and including removal from the teaching responsibilities at CUNY School of Medicine.  Determination of consequences that may arise from mistreatment will be the responsibility of the course or clerkship directors, Assistant Dean charged with that area of the curriculum, site directors at clinical sites, and/or the department chair. Students who engage in mistreatment/unprofessional behavior will be referred to the Office of Student Affairs, and may face disciplinary proceedings through the Student Academic Progress Committee.

CUNY Policy for Student Complaints about Faculty Conduct

Students may always use the CUNY policy for complaints about faculty conduct in academic settings, found here:  https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/la/PROCEDURES_FOR_HANDLING_STUDENT_COMPLAINTS.pdf

Procedure for Reporting Mistreatment/Unprofessional Behavior