Student Learning Environment
Policies and Procedures
The University of Illinois College of Medicine is committed to providing and maintaining a safe and effective learning environment in which students, faculty, residents, fellows, healthcare staff, and university administrative staff work together to both educate and learn in a manner that promotes the highest level of patient care and research.
As an institution that trains the physician leaders and researchers of tomorrow, we expect members of our community to uphold an academic environment that encourages mutually respectful relationships, is conducive to learning, and is free of mistreatment, unlawful discrimination and harassment, and threats of retaliation.
All members of the medical education community have a shared responsibility to protect the integrity of the learning environment, have a right to work and learn free of unlawful discrimination, harassment and mistreatment, and have a right to report any incident in which that positive learning environment has been compromised.
LInks
- The UI COM Positive Learning Environment Policy
- The Standards of Conduct contained in the UIC Student Disciplinary Policy
- The University of Illinois at Chicago Discrimination and Harassment Policies
- The University of Illinois Nondiscrimination Statement
- The University of Illinois at Chicago Prohibition of Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment and Sexual Misconduct
- The University of Illinois Statement on Sex Discrimination, Sexual Harassment, and Sexual Misconduct
- University of Illinois Code of Conduct
- AAMC Statement on the Learning Environment
- The principles set forth in Medical Professionalism in the New Millenium: A Physician Charter
Positive Learning Environment Policy
The UI COM Positive Learning Environment Policy sets forth the commitment of the UI COM to protect the integrity of the learning environment, establishes the characteristics of a positive learning environment and code of conduct for Teacher-Student Relationships, defines “student mistreatment”, and encourages those who have experienced or witnessed student mistreatment or other learning environment concerns to report them.
Intro
Medicine is a profession that requires the acquisition and mastery of a large body of knowledge and clinical skills as well as high standards of professionalism in both behavior and attitudes demonstrated both within and outside the academic setting. Effective, humane, respectful and compassionate communication with and care for patients, teachers and fellow students is an essential component of the academic expectations and standards of the UIC medical school program. In addition, those responsible for educating medical students are expected to emphasize the importance of professionalism and demonstrate it by example.
Mistreatment Examples
AAMC Examples
- Publicly embarrassed or humiliated.
- Physically harmed or threatened with physical harm.
- Required to perform personal services.
- Subjected to offensive sexist remarks.
- Denied opportunities for training or rewards based solely on gender.
- Received lower evaluation or grades solely because of gender.
- Subjected to unwanted sexual advances.
Patient Safety Concerns Examples
- Inadequate clinical supervision
- Pressuring a student to perform medical procedures for which the student is insufficiently trained resulting in risk to patient care.
- Endangering a student’s professional development by instructing the student to ignore institutional policies, or by inviting/encouraging students to do something unethical or illegal.
- Demonstrating inappropriate behavior directed at residents, nurses, and other staff, which affects the quality of patient care.
Suboptimal Learning Environment Examples
- Inviting students to engage in or actually engaging in a romantic or sexual relationship with the student over which a teacher has supervisory or evaluative authority.
- Unfairly singling out a student for adherence to higher expectations than others in that student’s cohort.
- Assigning duties as punishment rather than education.
- Intentional neglect or lack of communication.
- Allowing students to witness the behavior described as “mistreatment” above, directed toward fellow students, patients, or others over whom the teacher has authority.
- Inadequate clinical supervision
Other Recurring Examples
- Threating to or actually grading, promoting, or otherwise evaluating a student on any basis other than that student’s academic/clinical performance or competency (e.g., on the basis of the student’s race, color, religion/religious beliefs, sex, national origin, ancestry, age, order of protection status, genetic information, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or unfavorable discharge from the military or status as a protected veteran).
- Verbally abusing, attacking and/or harassing a student in a manner that fails to respect the student’s dignity, whether in public or private, in jest or in an attempt to reinforce learning.
- Use of threatening or intimidating behavior or words.
- Using obscenities, profanity or pejorative (e.g., racially/culturally-derived/gender-based) terms or names directed at or in the presence of a student.
- Unwarranted exclusion from reasonable learning opportunities.
- Endangering a student’s professional development by instructing the student to ignore institutional policies, or by inviting/encouraging students to do something unethical or illegal.
- Pressuring or requiring students to exceed established restrictions on work hours.
- Exploitation of students in any manner (e.g. by asking students to perform personal errands or by taking credit for work performed by the student).
- Committing an act of physical abuse or violence of any kind (e.g. throwing objects, aggressive violation of personal space, etc.).
- Engaging in unlawful discrimination or harassment.
- Engaging in unlawful sexual harassment, discrimination or misconduct, including but not limited to making unwelcome sexual comments, jokes, or taunting remarks about another’s body, attire, appearance, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or marital status.
- Inadequate clinical supervision
Reporting Student Mistreatment/Concerns
Anonymous or Signed Reporting of Student Mistreatment Concerns
If you believe you have experienced or witnessed mistreatment of any kind, you are strongly encouraged to report it as soon as possible via the Report Student Mistreatment form.
For instances of discrimination, harassment, or sexual misconduct, please utilize the Sexual Misconduct Reporting button below. For instances of bias, please refer to the Bias Reporting Tool below.
Consistent with the UI COM Positive Learning Environment Policy, reports of student mistreatment and other learning environment concerns are taken very seriously.
The Maxient reporting form allows for anonymous or signed reporting.
Reports submitted through this form will be received by the campus and college-wide deans for student affairs, Deans Boucher-Berry, Calato, Kashima, and Hanks (interim for the Peoria campus while a new assistant dean for student affairs is selected). You should not use this form to report events presenting an immediate threat to the health or safety of any person, including yourself. If there is an immediate risk to health or safety of any person, please call 911 to connect with medical support or local law enforcement.
Discrimination/Harassment/Sexual Misconduct
Any claims about sex or gender-based discrimination, harassment, assault and/or Sexual Misconduct should be reported to the UIC Title IX Coordinator following the University of Illinois policy.
Incidents/concerns containing claims of unlawful discrimination and/or harassment should be reported to the UIC Office for Access and Equity.
Discrimination/Harassment Reporting
There are confidential resources available on our campuses:
- Chicago – The UIC Counseling Center & the Campus Advocacy Network
- Peoria – The Center for Wellbeing
- Rockford – Student Health & Wellness (clinical services are confidential)
Bias Reporting
Any concerns/incidents about bias should be reported to the UIC Office of the Dean of Students via the Bias Reporting Tool.