Mistreatment
In 2010, the Stanford School of Medicine leadership was concerned that the rate of mistreatment reported by our graduating medical students on the annual AAMC GQ had increased over prior years. It was decided to redouble efforts to improve the learning climate for students, underscoring our school’s zero tolerance for inappropriate treatment of learners.
What Constitutes Mistreatment?
The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) lists these behaviors as mistreatment on the annual Graduation Questionnaire that is sent to each student in the nation who is graduating from medical school:
- Publicly humiliated
- Required to perform personal services
- Physically harmed or threatened with physical harm
- Subjected to unwanted sexual advances
- Asked to exchange sexual favors for grades or other rewards
- Denied opportunities for training or rewards based solely on gender, race or ethnicity, or sexual orientation
- Received lower evaluations or grades solely because of gender, race or ethnicity, or sexual orientation
- Subjected to offensive remarks because of gender, race or ethnicity, or sexual orientation
Respectful Educator and Mistreatment Committee (REMC)
The Respectful Educator and Mistreatment Committee (REMC) was created to educate and raise awareness of our standards for respectful educator conduct, to enable a procedure by which students can report concerns of student mistreatment without fear of retailiation and to address solutions of these concerns. Click here to view the Respectful Educator and Mistreatment Policy. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact the REMC Chair, Dr. Smith-Coggins directly.
How REMC Responds to Mistreatment
When a student expresses a concern of mistreatment, it is brought to REMC in a blinded fashion so that the student (and educator, if named) remains anonymous
REMC’s response depends on whether the source of the mistreatment is named and the severity of the mistreatment
If the source is named, action is taken according to the Mistreatment Response Pyramid. If the source is not named, the Clerkship Director informs the department about the reported mistreatment and initiates learning climate improvements
Levels 2, 3 and 4 of the pyramid apply when an educator has been named more than one time
Team of Coaches
- The Team of Coaches was trained to deliver mistreatment feedback. These coaches are respected nonsupervisory, senior faculty who are selected from different departments. The training for coaches focuses on methods of sharing anonymous, delayed, negative feedback based on perception, discouraging retaliatory and defensive thoughts, encouraging self-reflection and avoiding educator demoralization.
- Current Team of Coaches:
- Larry Shuer, Nuerosurgery
- Stuart Goodman, Orthopedics
- Paul Auerbach, Emergency Medicine
- David Spain, Surgery
- Lisa Orloff, ENT
- Erika Schillinger, Family Medicine
- Brooke Jeffrey, Radiology
- Abraham Verghese, Internal Medicine
- Laurence Katznelson, Internal Medicine
- Sallie De Golia, Psychiatry
- Danny Sam, Kaiser Santa Clara
- Jerry Shefren, Ob/Gyn
- Paul Grimm, Pediatrics
- Marty Bronk, Surgery
- Ed Riley, Anesthesia
Report an Issue
If you have experienced or witnessed mistreatment, we encourage you to report it using one of the three methods listed below.
- Contact Dr. Smith-Coggins
Contact Dr. Smith-Coggins directly by email. - Fill out a SAFE report through the hospital SAFE reporting system. The reports that include student mistreatment are sent to Dr. Smith-Coggins directly. Complaints will be kept confidential and addressed quickly.
- Report clerkship issue via E*Value
Report mistreatment on clerkship evaluations through E*Value. This anonymous reporting is sent to Dr. Smith-Coggins. Egregious incidents are handled immediately.