The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Nutritional Sciences Internship Handbook 2018-2019 College of Allied Health

18.3 - Student Professional Behavior in an Academic Policy

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) strives to attract, matriculate, and train health professions and public health, biomedical, and pharmaceutical sciences graduate students (hereinafter referred to as OUHSC students) who not only possess the intellectual capacity for health professions and graduate study but also have a high capacity for ethical and professional behavior. Since training in ethical and professional behavior is an integral part of training in the health professions, conduct during training is an academic issue. Professionalism is one critical cornerstone of a successful academic program, just as it is a cornerstone of the responsible conduct of research, maintaining integrity and compassion in the delivery of health care, and building a collegial and conscientious health professions team.

Circumstances may arise during a student’s course of study that call into question the capacity or commitment of the student to maintain this academic standard. As such, the colleges and training programs retain the responsibility and authority to determine a student’s fitness to continue in the program of study.

The process of transitioning from a student to a health care professional requires study, self- reflection and self-management on the part of learners. Ethical and professional behaviors are critical to the effective education of OUHSC students, and are considered a core competency in the academic program, and, thus, are key factors in academic good standing. When a student accepts an offer of admission into OUHSC programs, he or she commits to comply with all regulations, including those regarding ethical and professional conduct, established by the University, the OUHSC, the respective College, and the Program.

As a distinct learning community within the University, the OUHSC has established the Student Professional Behavior in an Academic Program Policy (referred to as “the Policy” or “this Policy”) and adopted procedures for addressing standards of ethical and professional behavior for OUHSC students. The policy and procedures identify student responsibilities and rights in conjunction with standards of fairness, privacy, and due process. They are derived, in part, from the standards of conduct adopted by national organizations that accredit OUHSC programs (e.g., ASAHP, CODA, NLNAC, LCME, ACPE) or license or certify OUHSC learners (e.g., NCCPA, state licensing boards) and the standards of ethical and professional behavior adopted by national and local professional organizations.

Since training in ethical and professional behavior is integral to the education of OUHSC students, violations of this Policy will be considered as academic issues. Failure to meet ethical and professional behavior standards will result in action up to, and possibly including, dismissal and may jeopardize advancement and graduation.

In addition to the academic and clinical-related requirements of each college and program, this Policy and its related procedures shall govern academic and professional behavior at the OUHSC. In the event any OUHSC college and/or health professions program develops a statement of principles and responsibilities related to standards of ethical and professional behavior specific to its respective profession, such statements must conform to the Policy and its procedures.

This Policy is not intended to address the types of student conduct violations described in the University of Oklahoma Student Rights and Responsibilities Code, Section VI 1-22; academic misconduct, as described in Section 4.18 and Appendix C of the OUHSC Faculty Handbook. For cases in which both the Student Rights and Responsibilities Code and the Student Professional Behavior in an Academic Program Policy may apply, this Student Professional Behavior in an Academic Program Policy shall take precedence.

Objectives:

  1. To document the priority placed by the Health Sciences Center on the academic standards related to student ethical and professional behavior.
  2. To provide students, faculty, and staff with clear articulation of the expectations regarding student ethical and professional behavior.
  3. To provide the OUHSC colleges with clearly articulated authority to act when dealing with student ethical and professional behavior issues.
  4. To identify procedures for managing and addressing student ethical and professional behavior issues.
  5. To ensure standards of fairness, privacy, and certain processes are applied, as applicable.

4.40.2 Scope:

All OUHSC students are expected to demonstrate high standards of ethical and professional behavior in all educational and clinical settings, including but not limited to:

  1. classroom-based milieu (e.g., classrooms, lecture halls, laboratories, on-line and technology-based classes);
  2. professional and clinical sites that are part of the learning program (e.g., hospitals, clinics, community health centers, ambulatory settings);
  3. other settings not part of the formal learning program but which contribute to the learning process (e.g., student-run special interest group meetings and activities, clubs and governance structures, interactions with University or OUHSC administrators and other members of the campus community); and
  4. Other settings as described below:

    This Policy is intended to guide the ethical and professional behavior of students studying in the OUHSC programs. It is not intended to directly guide or address behavior that is a part of a student’s private life, but such behavior may come to the attention of the OUHSC in several ways and become the focus of a Policy investigation or charge:
  • Conduct may be reported to a member of the faculty or administration by a variety of sources (e.g., police, friends, parents, other agencies) that raises a concern about the student’s capacity to continue his or her studies. If such reported conduct raises a concern about the safety of the student or the safety of others that the student may have contact with at the institution or includes behavior that could indicate an issue with moral, ethical, or personal values that would preclude satisfactory functioning in the discipline, an investigation may be conducted and action taken on the basis of the investigation.
     
  • If a student is charged with an offense in the civil justice system and the University becomes aware of and verifies this circumstance through self-report of the student or a reliable, verified source , the University may elect to not pursue an investigation until the outcome of the civil court proceeding is known, unless the alleged offense is such that allowing the student to continue his or her studies could be detrimental to the safety of patients or others, as determined by the OUHSC Vice Provost for Academic Affairs.
     
  • If a student is charged with a criminal offense, he or she is obligated to report this to the college Dean immediately. If a matriculating student has been charged with a criminal offense between the time he/she wrote an application and the time he/she arrives at school, or at any time while a student, he/she must inform the Dean of the charges before the first day of classes. If the University later discovers that a student withheld disclosure of a criminal charge, he/she may be subject to immediate dismissal by the Dean. Depending upon the nature of the criminal charge, the student may not be allowed to continue the course of study until there is final disposition of the criminal charge either by verdict, plea, or dismissal. This is consistent with the obligation of the University to ensure the safety of patients and others.

OUHSC students are expected to hold themselves to the highest standards of ethical and professional conduct. As part of their education and training, these students must begin to practice professional behaviors that they will uphold for the rest of their professional lives.

Fundamental attributes of professionalism and ethical and professional behavior include, but are not limited to, honesty and integrity, dedicated desire to learn and respect for the academic process, concern for the welfare of patients and their families, a commitment to patient confidentiality, respect for the rights of others, emotional maturity, and self-discipline.

While not all inclusive, examples of unacceptable ethical and professional behavior include but are not limited to the following:

  • Lack of integrity and honesty (e.g., lying about, misrepresenting, or not reporting information about care given, clinic errors, or any action related to clinic functions; acting outside the scope of his/her role in a clinical, academic, professional or administrative setting). NOTE: Allegations of academic misconduct, including but not limited to cheating, plagiarism, fabrication, fraud, destruction, bribery or intimidation, assisting others in any act proscribed by the Academic Misconduct Code, or attempting to engage in such acts, as defined under the Academic Misconduct Code are addressed in the Academic Misconduct Code.
  • Failure to demonstrate professional demeanor or concern for patient safety (e.g., use of offensive language and gestures, being under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the educational or clinic setting)
  • Unmet professional responsibility (e.g., not contributing to an atmosphere conducive to learning due to poor attendance, punctuality issues, and/or distracting, or insensitive complete responsibilities in a timely manner; not responding to requests [written, verbal, e-mail, telephone] in a timely manner; breaching patient confidentiality)
  • Exhibiting disruptive behavior (e.g., pushing, punching, throwing things, making inappropriate gestures, threats, verbal intimidation, language that belittles or demeans, negative comments with racial, ethnic, religious, age, gender or sexual overtones, making impertinent or inappropriate written entries in the medical record or making statements attacking students, faculty or staff)
  • Lack of effort toward self-improvement and adaptability (e.g., resistant or defensive in accepting constructive criticism; remaining unaware of own inadequacies; resisting considering or making suggested changes to improve learning, behavior, or performance; not accepting responsibility for errors or failure; abusive or inappropriately critical, arrogant)
  • Lack of respect for cultural diversity (e.g., inappropriate interpersonal interaction with respect to age, culture, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender, sexual orientation)
  • Exhibiting diminished relationships with members of the health care team (e.g., not functioning appropriately within the health care team or not demonstrating the ability to collaborate with fellow students, staff)
  • Exhibiting diminished relationships with patients and families (e.g., insensitive to the patient’s or family’s needs, inappropriate personal relationships with patients or members of their families, lack of empathy)
  • Failure to maintain and safeguard the confidentiality of patient and research participant information, including paper and electronic records, verbal communications, and social networking and electronic media sites
  • Failure to comply with college and program academic and clinical-related requirements (e.g., training, immunization, HIPAA)

NOTE: Dietetic interns who do not turn in work on time (this includes case studies) will be issued a professional concerns report.

4.40.3 Procedures for Handling Breaches of Ethical and Professional Behavior Standards

Violations of this Policy will be handled as follows:

  1. Who May File
    Complaints about possible breaches of ethical and professional behavior may be initiated by individuals within the College or Department/Section (students, faculty, staff, and administration) or by external sources (patients, families, visitors, extramural rotation sites, other agencies with which a student has had contact). If reported elsewhere, the initial complaint should be promptly forwarded to the student’s program director or assistant/associate dean of student affairs or directly to the Dean of the College. The formal complaint must be in writing, with a brief description of the evidence, and submitted within and academic intercessions.
     
  2. Complaints Review and Investigation; Sanctions
    Any egregious unethical or unprofessional behavior must be reported to the Dean and could result in the student’s being immediately suspended or dismissed from the program. Examples of egregious or unprofessional behavior would include but are not limited to patient endangerment, unacceptable patient management, and inappropriate alteration of patient records, or behavior that poses a danger to persons or property or an ongoing threat of or disruption of the academic process. The Dean must consult with the Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, Legal Counsel and other officials as appropriate to determine if the matter should proceed under other applicable University policies. Should the Dean take the immediate action of suspending or dismissing a student from the program, the student may request a hearing under the Academic Appeals Board process, as described in Section 3 below.

    For less egregious unethical and unprofessional behavior, rather than filing a formal complaint about professional behavior, the faculty member or program director may conclude (but is not required to conclude) that the incident is more appropriately treated as an instructional rather than a disciplinary matter. In such cases, the faculty member or program director will contact the student directly to discuss the issue, provide feedback, and make suggestions for how the behavior at issue can be improved.If the faculty member or program director believes that an effective resolution resulted from meeting with the student, no further action is required. The incident shall be documented in the student’s file and may be used in the future, where applicable, to indicate a pattern, practice, failure to benefit from redirection.

    In the event that the faculty member or program director determines that giving the student feedback about issues of concern was not successful in resolving the issue or if the behavior is of a significant or serious nature (but not warranting immediate suspension or dismissal), a Professionalism Concerns Report (PCR) will be completed by the faculty member or program director. The focus of this PCR process is educational, with the goal of helping the health professions student move forward successfully in coursework, clinical practice experience, and interactions within the Health Sciences Center community.

    A PCR must be filed with the college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs within 10 University business days from the time the behavior was observed or reported, exclusive of University breaks and academic intercessions.

    Following receipt of the PCR, the college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs will meet with the student to discuss ways in which the unprofessional behavior can be improved, thus allowing the student adequate opportunity to make appropriate behavioral changes. The student will be asked to sign the PCR to acknowledge that the PCR has been reviewed and may respond to the PCR by providing additional written information. The college’s assistant/associate dean of student affairs may require remedial action, such as a corrective action plan, mandated counseling or probationary status, which shall be noted on the PCR. The PCR is then forwarded to the college Dean and to the Graduate College Dean, if applicable.

    In the event that a student fails on three occasions to meet the expected standards of ethical and professional conduct as documented by PCRs and/or documentation in the student’s file, the assistant/associate dean of student affairs or if appropriate, the Graduate College Dean, has the option to place the student on probation, suspend the student, or dismiss the student, depending on the nature of the student’s behavior. Prior to any such action, the student affairs dean, Graduate College Dean, or other appropriate administrator will meet with the student, identify the concerns, identify the anticipated action, and provide the student an opportunity to present his/her version of events leading to the situation. Within 3 days of such meeting, the student will be provided notice of the action taken. If dissatisfied with the action taken, the student may request a hearing in accordance with Section 3 below.
     
  3. Appeal Process
    Students who are dismissed or suspended from their program may request a hearing under the OUHSC Academic Appeals Policy (Section 4.16 of the OUHSC Faculty Handbook).

    A student may not appeal an action taken simply because he/she does not agree with it.
    (Regents, 12-1-11)

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