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Residency Professionalism Expectations

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Residency Professionalism Expectations

University Health Care Hospitals and Clinics Graduate Medical Education Resident Policies and Procedures

Professionalism Expectations

The goal of this training program is to provide experience in the art and science of Neurosurgery in order to achieve excellence in the diagnosis, care and treatment of patients. Trainees and attending physicians must recognize that they are privileged members of a noble profession where humanistic qualities foster the formation of honorable patient-physician relationships. These qualities include integrity, respect, compassion, professional responsibility, courtesy, sensitivity to patient needs for comfort and encouragement, and professional attitude and behavior towards colleagues.


The purpose of this document is to remind all of us of the high level of professionalism expected of a physician, and to highlight the standards and aspirations to which we hold ourselves. In addition, this agreement reinforces that all trainees are evaluated in the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education’s (ACGME) professionalism competency based on their behavior in and out of the hospital. Professionalism is a broad competency that affects success as a physician. Lapses in professionalism by trainees may be addressed as outlined in the Graduate Medical Education 12.1 Academic Action and Dispute Resolution Policy.


Expectations include:

Trainee

  • The trainee will exercise good judgment, integrity and behavior both inside and outside the workplace to include, but not limited to the following:
  • The trainee will accept primary responsibility for the delivery of care to all assigned inpatients and outpatients, and will accept responsibility for the complete turn-over of those patients when going off duty, regardless of the institution at which the trainee is working. This commitment to patients and the medical profession may at times exceed the trainees’ own self-interest.
    Trainees are expected to work two weekends per month and have two weekends per month off.
  • The trainee will make every effort to be available as needed to offer assistance to patients, their families, colleagues, and clinic and hospital staff.
  • The trainee will willingly accept guidance, feedback, and evaluation from those with more experience and use this information to improve practice and behavior. The trainee will recognize that he/she (like everyone) is not perfect but will reflect on how he/she can improve. The trainee will provide feedback and written evaluations on the program, faculty, and medical students when requested.
  • The trainee will conduct him/herself ethically and professionally and keep his/her position as a physician in the care of patients and in relationships between him/herself and other members of the healthcare team. The trainee will avoid unduly familiar relationships in the workplace. There can be no romantic/sexual or familial relationship with someone over who you have any sort of supervisory/advisory/preceptor role. This includes faculty, fellows, residents, medical students and staff.1
  • The trainee will develop and participate in a personal program of self-study and professional growth. In doing so, the trainee recognizes that her/his program has a defined academic schedule. During didactics, the trainee will not text, surf the internet for unrelated material, or act in an inappropriate manner that is disrespectful to those working to educate her/him.
  • The trainee will demonstrate intellectual honesty and professional integrity in both clinical practice and academic endeavors. The trainee will not plagiarize presentations and will provide credit/acknowledgment when the trainee adopts or uses the work of another as part of a presentation or didactic lecture. The trainee will not knowingly copy or duplicate the patient care documentation of another physician or provider and represent it as his/her own. The trainee will comply with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that provide data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information, and not access medical records of individuals for whom the trainee is not providing healthcare.
  • The trainee recognizes that responding to email, tracking details, maintaining his/her schedule, recording work hours, notifying the program about leave and vacation and not having to be reminded to get things done is part of professionalism. The trainee is expected to abide by the duty hours restrictions, adhere to department procedures regarding handoffs, and to notify the chief resident and program director if the trainee is unable to perform their duties. The chief resident is expected to oversee obligations, so duty hour compliance is maintained. As such the trainee will do his/her best to be organized and timely in these efforts.
  • The trainee is responsible for entering their work hours weekly. When not able to enter their work hours in a timely manner, they must notify education staff to ensure the work hours are entered so that the program is not in non-compliance. If weekly work hour limits are exceeded, the trainee must notify the chief resident and program director in real time and they will be excused with alternative coverage provided.
  • Any leave (vacation, FMLA etc.) must be preapproved by the education office and Program Director. Trainees must let the education office know before any leave is taken or approved.
  • LMS and RQI modules must be completed as soon as they are assigned. Failure to do so can result in trainee being removed from service.
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1Reference:
Policy 1-020: Required Professional Boundaries in Relationship.

Program

  • The faculty will exercise good judgement, integrity and behavior in regards to training to include, but not limited to the following:
  • The program will take responsibility to provide adequate training, and resources for you to care for your patients. The program will do its best to ensure that you have access to self-care to recover from those times when you have to exceed your self-interest.
  • Attending physicians will make every effort to be available to offer assistance, advice, teaching and mentorship as needed.
  • The program will strive to create a favorable learning environment by giving regular guidance, feedback and evaluations. These will be delivered in a professional, constructive manner
  • Attending physicians will conduct themselves ethically and professionally and will avoid unduly familiar relationships. Harassment, sexual or otherwise, will not be tolerated in any fashion.
  • Instructors for the program will provide up-to-date, relevant material in an optimally engaging manner. Teachers will be prepared with materials necessary for your learning and will prioritize teaching so as to avoid last minute cancelations of didactics.
  • Faculty will demonstrate intellectual honesty and professional integrity in both clinical practice and academic endeavors. They will not plagiarize presentations and will provide credit/acknowledgment when they adopt or use the work of another as part of a presentation or didactic lecture. They will not knowingly copy or duplicate the patient care documentation of another physician or provider and represent it as their own. They will comply with all Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) regulations that provide data privacy and security provisions for safeguarding medical information, and not access medical records of individuals for whom they are not providing healthcare.
  • Faculty will also strive to be organized, track details, respond to emails, and accomplish required tasks without reminder.