Chapter 9: Additional Policies

9.1 Appointment to the Medical Staff of Stanford Hospital & Clinics &/or Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital

Before a member of the faculty or staff is permitted to assume responsibility for the care of patients at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and/or Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital, he or she must apply for Medical Staff membership and be approved through a formal credentialing process.

In order to avoid delay in beginning patient care, physician candidates for faculty or staff appointments who are expected to manage hospital and/or clinic patients should be assisted by the department to make early application for Medical Staff membership. Information and applications for both Stanford Hospital and Clinics and Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital are available at the credentialing office (650) 725-6021.

9.2 Requirements for Malpractice Insurance Coverage for New Faculty Physicians & Staff Physicians

Department chairs may wish to keep the numerous required approvals and forms in mind when scheduling the dates on which new faculty physicians and other physicians or psychologists are to begin clinical duties.

Before a new faculty physician, Voluntary Clinical Faculty member or Staff Physician can be provided malpractice insurance and assigned patient care responsibility, the following requirements must be met and forms completed:

Formal School and/or University (as applicable) approval of the faculty or staff appointment
Formal approval of a Medical Staff appointment at Stanford Hospital and Clinics and/or Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital

California Medical Licensure form (see Chapter 2, Forms), indicating that the new appointee has a valid California Medical License without encumbrances. Before offering the candidate a position, the department chair should determine that the candidate holds such a license or can obtain one before assuming patient care responsibilities.
If the candidate is not a US citizen, a completed Exchange Visitor Sponsorship Request form. For information about the requirements for foreign nationals, contact Bechtel International Center.
Letter of Agreement on Professional Fees to transmit professional fees to the appropriate Stanford Hospital and Clinics or Lucile Packard Childrens Hospital account, signed by the new appointee (see Chapter Two, Forms)

9.3 Annual Off-Duty Time in Lieu of Vacation

Members of the Academic Council (University Tenure Line, Nontenure Teaching Line, and Nontenure Research Line faculty) in the School of Medicine are paid for eleven months of service over a twelve-month period from September 1 to August 31. Therefore, during each academic year, the faculty member has a period of one month "off duty." This off-duty time may be taken all at once or in increments throughout the year as determined by the department chair to be consistent with the faculty member's fulfillment of his or her academic responsibilities.

The period of one month off duty is not termed "vacation." The unused portion of the month cannot be carried forward into a subsequent year except by prior approval by the department chair of an individual arrangement justified by academic considerations. Pay in lieu of off-duty time or for unused portions of such time at year-end or on termination of appointment is not possible.

Medical Center Line faculty are eligible for time off and sabbatical on the same terms as members of the Academic Council.

9.4 Short Absences

Short absences for personal business, illness, jury duty, military duty, and similarly limited absences normally are with full salary. It is expected that when scheduling periods of personal time off, one’s academic responsibilities are taken into consideration and continue to be fulfilled. The department chair or supervisor should be notified in advance of any absence that may affect class, laboratory, research, clinical activities or other University commitments.

9.5 Paid Sick Leave Law

Each calendar year, faculty receive a lump sum of 24 hours of paid sick time that they may use pursuant to the Paid Sick Leave Law. They may use this sick time for themselves or a family member for absences due to illness; for preventive care or diagnoses, care, or treatment of an existing health condition; or for specified purposes related to domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking. This sick time does not carry over from one calendar year to the next. In addition to notifying the department chair or supervisor of the need to take sick leave, the employee should notify Payroll through a HelpSU request. If the need for sick time use is unforeseeable, the employee should provide notice of the need for sick time use as soon as practicable.

9.6 Family & Medical Leave Policies

Stanford University's family and medical leave policies are more fully described in the Universitys Faculty Handbook in Chapter 3.II (available on-line). The department submits the signed Faculty Application for Leave of Absence form (see below) to the Office of Academic Affairs (OAA), where it is reviewed. The OAA forwards the request to Finance, where it is reviewed in regard to funding. The Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs then reviews the application to determine credibility of the leave plan and notifies the department of the outcome. For additional information, contact the Benefits Office.

9.7 Maternity Leave

Maternity leave (disability leave) for a period of time before and after delivery is at full salary. The leave period is determined by the faculty memberís physician, who certifies the number of weeks that she is disabled, both before and after delivery. Partial salary offset is provided by short-term disability insurance for which the woman faculty member is expected to apply. For additional information, contact the Benefits Office.

9.8 Child Care Leave

Child care leave without salary, normally approved upon request, may be for a mother or a father of an infant for up to one year. Child care, medical, and family care leaves without salary may affect a faculty members appointment end date. See Chapter 3.I.C. of the Universitys Faculty Handbook.

9.9 Delay of Tenure Decision

A one-year extension of the date on which tenure would be automatically conferred is granted upon request to nontenured faculty members who give birth. For faculty appointed prior to September 1, 1996, two such extensions are allowed regardless of whether or not a leave is taken. For faculty appointed September 1, 1996 or later, there is no limit to the number of extensions; however, for these faculty, there is a ten-year limit on the amount of time that may be spent in an untenured rank. These delays do not automatically extend the mothers appointment to the faculty. Her reappointment would be subject to the normal review process including a departmental vote.

An additional delay of the tenure decision is granted for the period of leave of absence without salary taken by either the mother or father of an infant (either born to or adopted by parents). The faculty member will automatically receive a reappointment equal to the duration of the leave without the necessity of a departmental review or vote.

A parallel rule applies to women in the Medical Center Line. Please contact the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs for further details.

9.10 Reduced Teaching Load

Faculty who request this option should not be required to engage in classroom teaching during the quarter in which birth takes place or the following quarter. They should not be required to assume extra burdens of teaching when they resume full-time work in subsequent quarters. Continuation of research, advising and committee duties is expected after the period of maternity leave.

For most women faculty in Clinical Departments, the closest analogy to classroom teaching with respect to time and effort is clinical service. It is the policy of the School of Medicine that a faculty member, on request, will be excused from clinical responsibilities (as well as classroom teaching, if any) for ninety days following the end of her maternity leave. (During maternity leave, the faculty member is not on duty at all; as noted above, the period of maternity leave may be up to four months.) During these first ninety days following the end of maternity leave, the expectation is that she is responsible for her duties other than clinical responsibilities (e.g., continued research and scholarship, student training, committee and departmental work, etc.) and that she will remain on full salary during this time. If the faculty member wishes to return to her clinical responsibilities sooner, she may do so, but this should be a free choice on her part. If advanced planning efforts of the faculty member and department indicate the need temporarily to hire a physician to provide clinical coverage, funds for this purpose will be provided by the Stanford Faculty Practice Plan. Justification for such a request will be required.

Additional relevant sections of the Universitys Faculty Handbook referring to family and medical leave policies are:

Maternity Leave and Child Care Leave for Ranks in the Tenure Line
See Chapter 2, Section 2.II.B.2.e. for the possible effect on the tenure clock
Maternity Leave and Child Care Leave for Ranks in the Research and Teaching Lines
See Chapter 2, Section 2.II.B for the possible effect on the appointment end date
Maternity Leave and Child Care Leave for Ranks in the Medical Center Line
See Chapter 2, Section 2.III.B for the possible effect on the appointment end date

9.11 Sabbatical Leave Policy

Sabbatical leave policy in the Medical School follows University guidelines as stated in the Universitys Faculty Handbook in Chapter 3. The process for application is the same as for family and medical leaves (see above).

9.12 Research Grant Applications by Faculty Members with Expiring Appointments

A contractor such as the University has an obligation to disclose to an external granting agency any material facts bearing on the institution's ability to carry out the research program described in a grant application. Since this obligation is widely understood, Stanford does not have a written policy or procedure specifically addressing it.

However, the Sponsored Projects Office does consistently follow a policy of making such disclosure to the granting agency when the grant application is submitted.

Availability of a proposed principal investigator is a material condition of any research grant or contract awarded to Stanford. Therefore, when a principal investigators faculty appointment will terminate prior to or during a proposed project's period of performance, the potential sponsor should be so informed by the Sponsored Projects Office.

If the principal investigator or the department chair wishes to discuss the manner in which this information is transmitted to the granting agency, the department chair should call the Sponsored Projects Office before or when the grant application is forwarded to that office.

9.13 Principal Investigator Waivers

The role of principal investigator generally cannot be assumed by those with an Acting title. An early PI Waiver may be obtained for any faculty candidate whose appointment file has been read by the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and for whom the Office of Academic Affairs is willing to support submission of application with the caveat that funds will be accepted only upon final approval of the candidates faculty appointment. In such an instance, the Research Management Group will obtain this permission directly from the Office of Academic Affairs.

In addition, effective January 31, 1997, there is an option of a blanket PI waiver for individuals with Medical Center Line (MCL) appointments. Only members of the MCL doing clinical research are eligible for this program. The department chair in consultation with the Deans Office determines eligibility. After the faculty appointment has been approved, the MCL member will be eligible to submit, through the department Chair, an application to be a Principal Investigator on clinical research grants. The first such submission must be approved by the Senior Associate Dean for Research; subsequently, a revocable blanket waiver may be obtained for further grants that support research that is a natural outgrowth of the MCL faculty members clinical care and teaching. The request for the blanket waiver must be submitted by the department Chair to the Senior Associate Dean for Research and must include the clinical areas of expertise previously approved for research and the dates of the current faculty appointment. Provided these guidelines are met, no further waivers will be required. Should the MCL faculty member wish to submit proposals outside the previously approved area of clinical expertise, a PI waiver will be required. For additional information, contact the office of the Senior Associate Dean for Research.

9.14 Abuse Reporting Requirements

The California Penal Code requires all health practitioners to report immediately suspected cases of child abuse to the appropriate child protective agency and cases of dependent adult and elder abuse to either the Ombudsperson or to a local law enforcement agency (when abuse is alleged to have occurred in a long-term care facility) or to either the county adult protective services agency or to a local law enforcement agency (when abuse is alleged to have occurred elsewhere). Health practitioners must also report cases in which a person is suspected of suffering from any wound or other injury: inflicted by his or her own act; by another where the injury is by means of a knife, firearm or other deadly weapon; or which is the result of assaultive or abusive conduct. Further, any suspicion of abuse by a health facility or community care facility must be reported to both the local police authority and the county health department.

The University is required to obtain a signed statement from all physicians new to Stanford and certain other employees that states they have knowledge of abuse reporting requirements. To fulfill the requirements, a standard form to be signed by the new appointee will be sent to the department administrator as soon as the appointment has been approved. The department administrator should promptly return the form, signed by the appointee, to the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. (see Chapter 2: The Professoriate, Forms)

9.15 Faculty Incentive Fund

Operated by the Office of the Provost, the Faculty Incentive Fund (FIF) helps make it possible for departments and schools to make incremental appointments of qualified individuals who would bring diversity (broadly defined) to the faculty; this can include (but is not limited to) minority scholars and women scholars in disciplines in which they are underrepresented, as well as others who would bring additional dimensions to the university’s research and teaching programs.

Situations appropriate for the use of the FIF might include the case of an individual who is identified in a search who is not in the precise field in which the department is currently searching for academic reasons, but is nonetheless in a field that is appropriate for Stanford. Further information is available through the Faculty Affairs Office in the Office of the Provost.

9.16 Defense, Indemnification & Representation

Administrative Guide, memo 15.7, states that "Stanfords policy is to indemnify and defend its faculty and staff in compliance with California Labor Code Section 2802. That statute provides as follows:

An employer shall indemnify his employee for all that the employee necessarily expends or loses in direct consequence of the discharge of his duties as such, or his obedience to the directions of the employer, even though unlawful, unless the employee, at the time of obeying such directions, believed them to be unlawful."

This policy is applicable to situations in which a claim is made against a faculty member arising out of the faculty members performance or his or her job duties.

If in the course of the Universitys defense of such a claim, a conflict arises between the interests of the faculty member and of the University, the parties should make appropriate efforts to resolve that conflict. Under these circumstances, it may become advisable for the faculty member to arrange for a consultation with an attorney not simultaneously representing the University, such as from a panel compiled by the Office of the General Counsel for this purpose.

For further information concerning such a scenario, or for other information concerning legal matters, contact the Office of the General Counsel at (650)-723-9611.

9.17 Statement on the Respectful Workplace

Stanford University School of Medicine is committed to providing a work environment that is conducive to teaching and learning, research, the practice of medicine and patient care. Stanfords special purposes in this regard depend on a shared commitment among all members of the community to respect each persons worth and dignity. Because of their roles within the School of Medicine, faculty members, in particular, are expected to treat all members of the Stanford community with civility, respect and courtesy and with an awareness of the potential impact of their behavior on staff, students and other faculty members.