Reporting of Mistreatment, Sexual Misconduct, and other Concerns
For urgent concerns, learners should call 614-685-3059 (the Hamilton 305 Office) to request assistance. For concerns occurring after hours, that same number should be used; the voicemail message will have information for how to reach the Dean on Call.
The Ohio State College of Medicine has as a core value a climate of mutual respect in the teaching and learning environment. It is committed to promoting a positive and supportive learning environment for all learners, staff, volunteers, and physicians. The college maintains its commitment to prevent learner mistreatment through education by providing support for victims and responding with corrective action. In this way, the college assures an educational environment in which students, staff, volunteers, and physicians may raise and resolve issues without fear of intimidation or retaliation. The College is committed to investigating all cases of mistreatment in a prompt, sensitive, confidential, and objective manner.
Learners may report incidents of mistreatment and other concerns through several different routes. The College of Medicine welcomes all reports, as this helps us to improve our learning environment, and to that end, will not tolerate any type of retaliation for reporting a concern.
Mistreatment and learning environment concerns may be reported to the Vice Dean for Education, Associate Dean for Medical Education, Associate Dean for Student Life, and the Medical Student Advocate as well as the various offices listed below.
The student mistreatment policy and mechanisms for reporting are also detailed in Section 13 of the OSU Medical Student Handbook.
Mandated Reporting
Conversations regarding sexual misconduct are private, but all employees, including faculty and staff, must report incidents that are shared with them to the Civil Rights Compliance Office (CRCO, which includes Title IX). That office contacts the reporter to offer support and discuss options for investigation and action. The CRCO has informed us that incidents of harassment or discrimination against any protected class requires mandated reporting.
Exemptions from Mandated Reporting
Exemptions from mandated reporting include the Office of Student Life’s imbedded personal counselor, as well as staff at OSU Counseling and Consultation Services, Wilce Student Health Center, Student Legal Services, and SARNCO (Sexual Assault Response Network of Central Ohio). Students may discuss any incidents with these people or offices confidentially, and they are not required to make a formal report to the Civil Rights Compliance Office.
Resources
Learning environment concerns and mistreatment are often reported by leaners on their student evaluation of instruction forms or in the course/rotation. If the learner gives a low score on the respect questions (“I was treated with respect by this teacher,” or “I witnessed others be treated by respect by this teacher”), then a notification of a low score will go to the course coordinator/director for evaluation. The course coordinator/director contacts the student to ask them more about the situation, and the course or ring leadership then discusses possible interventions and the desired timing of the intervention. Learners may ask that the intervention be delayed until they are off the service/course/ring and their evaluations are completed.
Often, the required intervention may be a simple conversation to educate the instructor about the concern and how they can do better in the future. Reports are kept confidential, but it can be difficult to assure that the teacher does not know the identity of the complainant if the incident is particularly unique and/or memorable. More serious or repeated incidents may result in elevation to an associate dean, chair, or higher-level leader with more severe disciplinary or educational interventions including reprimand, probation, referral to a medical center professionalism committee, counseling, removal from teaching duties, or even termination of employment.
The Associate Dean for Student Life and the Medical Student Advocate review the low score reports weekly to make sure that they are being addressed by the course leadership and to look for patterns or service sites with general learning environment concerns. They may also reach out directly to the student for more serious issues or for issues that involve bias, discrimination, or harassment related to individuals who are members of a class that has federal civil rights protection (e.g. gender, race, disability, sexual orientation, etc.). The University requires the COM to report incidents of bias, discrimination and/or harassment related to protected class status to the Office of Institutional Equity.
Students may report learning environment concerns through the red button in VITALS at any time and may do so anonymously or with their name provided. The Associate Dean for Student Life and the Medical Student Advocate will be notified of this report by email and investigate. If the reporter has provided their name, they will be contacted for support and to provide them 1) the opportunity to share more information and 2) to specify their preference about how the incident should be handled. Anonymous reporting will always be a supported route to share a concern, but this may limit the ability to investigate thoroughly and prevents closing the loop and/or reporting back directly to the reporter about actions taken.
The Medical Student Advocate is someone who learners can turn to outside of course leadership and the academic administration to seek advice and discuss challenges and learning environment concerns. The student advocate can assist a student to work through difficult events and situations, determine next steps, and connect them with appropriate resources as needed. The student advocate plays no role in learner performance assessment and evaluation or determination of grades.
The student advocate is Lisa M. Christian PhD, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health and Director of the Stress, Behavioral Immunology, and Health Disparities Laboratory in the Institute of Behavioral Medicine Research.
Contact Information
Email: Lisa.Christian@osumc.edu
The ombudsperson provides an independent, confidential space to be listened to and receive informal counsel and advice, separate from the College of Medicine. The ombudsperson can help explore options and make decisions by gathering information and resources to aid in the process. The ombudsperson can also guide faculty and graduate and professional learners in identifying and reframing issues. The ombudsperson helps develop solutions and strategies to resolve conflict by thinking creatively and working with the faculty or learner to empower them with the tools to solve problems themselves. In some cases, the ombudsperson might informally mediate and facilitate communication among the parties involved.
Contact Information
Website: https://ombudsman.osu.edu/
Phone: (614) 292-4252
Email: gradombuds@osu.edu
Note: Sensitive or confidential content should not be emailed.
There are two dedicated campus advocates from SARNCO who can provide free crisis counseling, safety planning, etc. for survivors of sexual violence/harassment including learners, faculty, staff, and visitors of OSU’s Columbus campus and operate with complete confidentiality (i.e., without getting the COM involved). The on-campus office is located at 33. W. 11th Avenue, Room 202, Columbus, OH 43201.
Contact Information
Phone: 614-688-2518
The University Civil Rights Compliance Office (CRCO) exists to help the Ohio State community prevent and respond to all forms of harassment, discrimination, sexual misconduct, and retaliation.
The Civil Rights Compliance Office coordinates Ohio State’s response to all complaints of harassment, discrimination and sexual misconduct affecting learners, employees, graduate associates, appointees, volunteers, visitors, suppliers and contractors, including providing information on rights and options for formal investigation. Intake staff determine whether a reported incident represents a potential infringement of civil rights. If a report is not investigated by CRCO, it may be passed on to University Student Conduct, Human Resources, or returned to the COM.
The CRCO also provides coordinated support to help those impacted in accessing on- and off-campus support resources, including confidential resources. Dedicated coordinators help arrange interim measures to ensure continued access to educational and employment opportunities, such as no contact directives, changes in class or work schedule, emergency housing, counseling, and/or academic support.
Learners may report harassment or discrimination or sexual misconduct directly to the OSU CRCO via the contact information above. This includes incidents of discrimination involving patients as the victim or perpetrator. The Medical Student Advocate and the Associate Dean for Student Life are also happy to assist with such reporting, if the student would like their help – but once again, the student may bypass the COM completely to report to the CRCO.
Contact Information
Website: https://civilrights.osu.edu/
Phone: 614-247-5838
Email: equity@osu.edu
This office will open a new case and begin an investigation when it receives a complaint that alleges that an Ohio State student possibly violated the Code of Student Conduct. Individuals can submit a complaint using the online form linked above. Complaints of sexual misconduct or discrimination should not be sent here but rather to the Civil Rights Compliance Office.
Contact Information
Website: https://studentconduct.osu.edu/
Reporting: Online Form
EthicsPoint is an anonymous reporting system used by OSU for anonymously and confidentially report activities that may involve unethical or otherwise inappropriate activity in violation of OSU’s established policies. Areas covered include financial, healthcare, human resources for issues involving employees, institutional equity, research compliance or misconduct, student conduct and other ethical concerns. This service does not deal with academic matters. Concerns may be reported at the website or phone number listed above. The benefit of using EthicsPoint is that a two-way conversation may occur allowing more information to be gathered, allowing support, resources, and information about the disposition of the case to be communicated back to the reporter while completely preserving anonymity.
Contact Information
Website: OSU EthicsPoint
Phone: 1-866-294-9350