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Purpose
To establish fair policies
and procedures for adjudication of resident (includes fellows) grievances
related to actions which could result in dismissal, non-renewal of agreement of
appointment, or any other action that could threaten a resident’s intended
career development.
A grievance procedure shall
not be used to question a rule, procedure, or policy established by an
authorized faculty or administrative body.
Rather, it shall be used as due process by a resident who believes that
a rule, procedure, or policy has not been followed or has been applied in an
inequitable manner. An action may not form the basis of a grievance if the
resident merely challenges the judgment of the faculty as medical educators in
evaluating the performance of the resident.
GME Appeals Board: A group of faculty members and residents appointed by the Dean of the
College of Medicine (COM) and assembled to hear formal resident grievances.
Grievance: An
expression of dissatisfaction when a resident believes that any decision, act,
or condition affecting his or her program of study is arbitrary, illegal, or
creates unnecessary hardship. Such grievance may concern, but is not limited
to, the following: duties assigned to a resident; application of hospital or
college policies; questions regarding the non-reappointment, non-promotion,
suspension, or dismissal of a resident; and discrimination because of race,
national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, or status as a disabled or
Vietnam-era veteran; subject to the exception that complaints of sexual
harassment will be handled in accordance with the specific published policies
of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Grievance Panel: Those members of the Graduate Medical Education (GME) Appeals Board
selected, by a drawing, to hear a grievance, in accordance with Step II of the
grievance procedure.
Grievant: Any
resident submitting a grievance as defined above. For purposes of all GME Committee policies,
the term “resident” applies to interns, residents, and fellows.
Respondent: A
person or persons alleged to be responsible for the violation(s) alleged in a
grievance. The term may be used to
designate persons with direct responsibility for a particular action or those
persons with supervisory responsibility for procedures and policies in those
areas covered in the grievance.
Working Days: Monday
through Friday, excluding official UAMS holidays.
Policy
When an incident forming the
basis for a grievance arises, the grievant must follow the procedure outlined
below. Each grievance shall be handled
promptly and impartially, without fear of coercion, discrimination, or
reprisal. Each participant in a grievance
shall do his or her part to protect this right.
No resident, faculty member,
member of the Grievance Panel or GME Appeals Board, administrator, or witness
shall suffer loss of compensation or leave time for the time spent in any step
of this procedure.
Records shall be kept of each
grievance process. These records shall
be confidential to the extent allowed by law, and shall include, at a minimum:
the written grievance complaint filed by the grievant, the written response
filed by the respondent, the recording and documents of the hearing, the
written recommendation of the Grievance Panel, the results of any appeal, the
decision of the Dean, and any other material designated by the Dean or the
Dean’s designee. A file of these records
shall be maintained in the office of the Associate Dean for GME.
For purposes of the dissemination
of grievance precedents, separate records may be created and kept which
indicate only the subject matter of each grievance, the resolution of each
grievance, and the date of the resolution.
These records shall not refer to any specific individuals, and they may
be open to the public in accordance with the Arkansas Freedom of Information
Act or pertinent Federal laws.
Procedure
Step I: Initial
Attempt of Resolution
A. The grievant must
submit a written statement to the residency (fellowship) Program Director
specifying the violation(s) alleged, the reason for the grievant’s
belief that he or she is aggrieved, and the remedy sought. This written statement must be received by
the Program Director within fourteen (14) working days following the incident
which forms the basis for the grievance.
B. Within ten (10) working days of receipt of the
written statement, the Program Director and Departmental Chairperson will
attempt to resolve the grievance by a discussion with the grievant. The
Program Director and Departmental Chairperson have the discretion, after
discussion with the grievant, to discuss the grievance with the respondent in
an effort to resolve the grievance.
C. If the grievance
is satisfactorily resolved by this discussion, the terms of the resolution
shall be reduced to writing and shall be signed by the grievant, the Program
Director, and the respondent (if the respondent has participated in any
discussions with the Program Director in an effort to resolve the grievance and
is affected by the resolution).
D. This initial attempt of resolution must conclude
within ten (10) working days of the Program Director’s initial discussion with
the grievant. At the end of this ten-day period, if the
grievance cannot be resolved, the grievant can immediately proceed to Step II,
presentation of a formal grievance to the Dean of the COM.
Step II: Formal Grievance to the Dean
A. Filing a grievance:
1. Grievances
submitted to the Dean of the COM shall be in writing and shall provide the
following information: name and address of the grievant; nature, date, and
description of the alleged violation(s); name(s) of person(s) responsible for
the alleged violation(s); requested relief for corrective action; and any
background information the grievant believes to be relevant.
2. A grievance must be submitted to the Dean within
ten (ten) working days of the completion of the initial attempt of resolution,
outlined in Step I above.
B. Immediately upon
receipt of a formal grievance, the Dean will give the respondent a copy of the
grievance and will direct the respondent to submit to the Dean a written
response to the charges within ten (10) working days. The respondent will be specifically warned
not to retaliate against the grievant in any way. Retaliation will subject the respondent to
appropriate disciplinary action.
C. Following receipt of the written response, the Dean
may elect to review and decide the issue, or the Dean may refer the issue to the Appeals Board for a hearing. If the Dean decides the issue, the decision
shall be final, and there shall be no appeal.
If the Dean refers the issue to the Appeals Board, the grievance will be
heard pursuant to the Pre-Hearing Procedures and Hearing Procedures listed
below.
D. Pre-Hearing Procedures:
1. Selection of Grievance Panel: When a grievance is
referred to the GME Appeals Board, a Grievance Panel,
composed of two (2) residents and four (4) faculty shall be selected as
follows: The Dean, or the Dean’s
designee, and the grievant will review the membership of the GME Appeals
Board. The Dean, or the Dean’s designee,
in that person’s sole discretion, shall remove any member who may be considered
inappropriate for the hearing (e.g., a resident or faculty member directly involved
in the issue being appealed should not sit on the panel for that
complaint). The names of the remaining
members will then be written on tabs of paper, folded, and randomized by
mixing. The grievant will draw names
from the container. The first two
residents and first four faculty names will constitute the Grievance Panel,
provided they are available to attend the Hearing. The third resident name and the fifth faculty
name drawn are the first resident and faculty alternates, respectively; the fourth
resident name and the sixth faculty name drawn are the second resident and
faculty alternates, respectively, etc., until all resident and faculty names
are listed in a sequence of priority.
2. Scheduling of
Hearing: The Hearing will be conducted no sooner than fifteen (15) working days and no later than
twenty (20) working days after the
drawing unless the Dean determines there is a specific reason why another time
must be selected.
3. Representation:
The grievant and the respondent may have one (1) person, who may be an
attorney, to assist in the initiation, filing, processing, or hearing of the
formal grievance. However, this person
may not address the Grievance Panel, speak on behalf of the grievant or
respondent, question witnesses, or otherwise actively participate in the
hearing. The Grievance Panel may also be
assisted and advised by University counsel at its discretion.
4. Evidence: No
later than five (5) working days prior to the hearing, the grievant and the
respondent shall provide the Dean, or the Dean’s designee, with all documents
to be used and relied upon at the hearing and, also, with the name, address,
and telephone number of any representative and witnesses. There will be a simultaneous exchange of this
information between the parties, which will be facilitated by the Dean, or the
Dean’s designee, five (5) working days before the date of the hearing.
5. Information to
the Grievance Panel and Election of Chairperson: No later than three (3)
working days prior to the Hearing, the Dean shall assemble the six members of
the Grievance Panel. The Dean should
provide the Grievance Panel with the documents and information submitted by the
parties (as specified in paragraph 4 above), confirm the date of the Hearing,
and withdraw from the room. The
Grievance Panel should convene briefly for the sole purpose of electing a
faculty member as chairperson and deciding whether the Grievance Panel requests
the assistance of University counsel.
The substance of the grievance shall not be discussed at this initial
meeting, and neither the grievant, the respondent, nor
their respective representatives are permitted to attend.
E. Hearing Procedures:
1. Record of the
Hearing: The hearing will be recorded by recording devices supplied by
UAMS. These recordings shall be
maintained for a period of four (4) years after resolution of the
grievance. The grievant or respondent
may obtain a copy of the tapes from any recorded hearing, at the requesting
party’s expense. The deliberations of
the Grievance Panel will not be recorded.
2. Dean’s Announcement:
At the beginning of the hearing, the Dean will announce the date, time, place,
and purpose of the hearing, and will ask the members of the Grievance Panel to
identify themselves by name and department.
The grievant and the respondent will then identify themselves by name
and department. Finally, any
representative accompanying the grievant or the respondent shall identify
himself or herself by name and title.
The Dean will then give the Grievance Panel its charge. Following the charge, the Dean will withdraw
from the room.
3. Private Hearing:
The hearing shall be conducted in private.
Witnesses shall not be present during the testimony of any party or
other witness. Witnesses shall be
admitted for testimony only and then asked to leave. The grievant and the respondent may hear and
question all witnesses testifying before the Grievance Panel.
4. Presentation of
Case: The grievant and respondent shall be afforded reasonable opportunity for
oral opening statements, closing arguments, their own testimony, and
presentation of witnesses and pertinent documentary evidence, including sworn,
written statements.
5. Grievance Panel
Rights: The Grievance Panel shall have the right to question any and all
witnesses, to examine documentary evidence presented, and to summon other
witnesses or review other documentation as the Grievance Panel deems
necessary. The Grievance Panel has the
right to limit testimony and presentation of other evidence to that which is relevant
to the violation(s) alleged and to further limit testimony and other evidence
that is cumulative and unnecessary.
6. Grievance Panel
Deliberation: After the hearing is concluded, the Grievance Panel shall convene
to deliberate in closed session and arrive at a majority recommendation. The Grievance Panel shall make its
determination of whether or not a rule, procedure or policy was not followed or
was applied in an inequitable manner based upon the evidence presented at the
hearing, which is relevant to the issue(s) before the Grievance Panel. The Grievance Panel may make recommendations
for resolution of the dispute. Neither the grievant, the respondent, nor their representatives
may be present during the Grievance Panel deliberations.
7. Transmittal of
the Recommendation: Within four (4) working days after the hearing is
concluded, the Grievance Panel shall transmit a written copy of its
recommendation to the Dean. The Dean
will then mail, by certified mail, return receipt requested, a copy of the
written document to the grievant and respondent at addresses previously
provided by the grievant and the respondent.
8. Appeal of
Recommendation of the Grievance Panel:
If either the
grievant or the respondent wish to appeal the recommendation of the Grievance
Panel, the grievant or respondent shall, within five (5) working days of the
receipt of the recommendation, appeal the grievance recommendation to the
Dean. The appeal shall be in writing,
and it shall be based on one of the following: a substantial mistake of fact
occurred, a fundamental misinterpretation of official policies is evident, or a
significant procedural defect took place.
These are the only grounds for contesting the determination of the
Grievance Panel. Within five (5)
working days of this appeal, the Grievance Panel will reconvene, in private, to
consider whether there is merit to the appeal, review its previous
determination, and revise it if appropriate.
No new evidence or testimony shall be introduced at this time. Within two (2) working days of its having reconvened,
the Grievance Panel will present its determination, revised or unchanged, in
writing to the Dean. Within five (5)
working days of receipt of the determination from the Panel, the Dean may
accept it, amend it, reverse it, or refer it back to the Panel for
reconsideration. The grievant and the
respondent shall be notified in writing of the Dean’s decision by certified
mail, return receipt requested. The
decision of the Dean shall be final, and there shall be no appeal.
If the Dean receives
no appeal, by either the grievant or the respondent, within the five (5)
working day period described above, the Dean may consider the recommendation at
the end of that time period. The Dean may accept the Grievance Panel
recommendation, amend it, reverse it, or refer the grievance back to the
Grievance Panel for reconsideration. The decision of the Dean shall be final,
and there shall be no appeal.
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