Colorectal Surgery Resident Manual

GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE FOR RESIDENTS

PREAMBLE:

The purpose of this procedure is to provide a due process for academic or other disciplinary actions which could result in dismissal, non-renewal of a resident’s contract, non-promotion of a resident, or could significantly threaten a resident’s intended career development or for complaints or grievances against a program. The Grievance Procedure for Residents shall be applicable to all residents and fellows (hereinafter called “residents”) of SIU School of Medicine (hereinafter called “school”) and its Affiliated Hospitals (hereinafter called “hospitals”.)  This procedure shall not preempt the Medical Staff By-laws or personnel codes of the hospitals and shall not preempt or limit any right of the hospitals under the Agreement With Physician (resident contract) to immediately suspend a resident.

SECTION 1.       COMPLAINTS AGAINST A PROGRAM

 A.        If any resident has a complaint about any aspect of his/her Residency Program, the resident may present this complaint to the Director of the Residency Program in writing.  The complaint must include a written summary of the complaint, supporting facts and information, and the remedy or outcome being sought.

B.        The Residency Program Director, or his/her designee, shall discuss the complaint with the parties in an effort to resolve it and shall report the outcome of that effort in writing to the resident with a copy to the Designated Institutional Official and the Chief Executive Officer of the employing hospital.

SECTION 2.       THE RIGHT TO FILE A GRIEVANCE

A.         If the resident filing a complaint under Section 1 is not satisfied with the results of the resolution of the complaint, the resident may submit a written grievance to the Designated Institutional Officialwithin thirty (30) calendar days of the date of the Residency Program Director’s report.  The requirement that a complaint be filed as a pre-condition to the filing of a grievance may be waived in the discretion of the Designated InstitutionalOfficial. It is expected that such a waiver will be granted in circumstances involving dismissal of a resident, non-renewal of a resident’s contract, or non-promotion of a resident.  When such a waiver is granted, grievances involving dismissal of a resident, non-promotion, or non-renewal of a resident’s contract must be submitted within thirty (30) calendar days of the resident’s notification of same.

SECTION 3.       GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE

A.         A request for a grievance shall fully describe the details of the grievance, and must include:

1. A written summary of the action, event or issue being grieved,
2. Documentation of any supporting facts and information
3. A written description of the outcome of any conference held in accordance with Section 1.B (if applicable)
4. A written description of the remedy or outcome being sought, with a discussion of why the action should be overturned.

B.         A resident who fails to request a grievance in writing within the time and in the manner specified above shall have waived any right to a grievance.

C.   Upon receipt of the grievance document, the Designated Institutional Official shall appoint a grievance committee and designate the committee chairperson.

D.         The grievance committee shall be composed of 4 full-time faculty members, and one resident appointed by the House Staff Board of Directors. Committee members shall not be appointed from the same program as the grievant or respondent, and at least one committee member shall be a current or former program director.

E.   If any member of the grievance committee is or shall become a party to the grievance or a witness, or unable to attend for any reason, the Designated Institutional Official shall remove such individual from the grievance committee and appoint his/her replacement.

F.         Each party shall submit in writing to the Office of Residency Affairs all documentation, evidence and supporting materials at least ten (10) business days before the hearing date specified in accordance with Section 4 below.  Materials not provided within this timeframe will only be included at the discretion of the grievance committee chair. 

G.         The Office of Residency Affairs shall be responsible for promptly forwarding a copy of the grievance and all supporting documentation from the grievant to all involved parties.

H.         The Office of Residency Affairs shall be responsible for promptly forwarding a copy of the Department’s documentation to all involved parties.

I.          Patient identifiers shall be removed from all supporting documentation in order to preserve patient confidentiality.

SECTION 4.       NOTICE OF HEARING 

A.         The Office of Residency Affairs shall schedule and arrange for a hearing on the grievance to be held on a date not less than fourteen (14) business days, nor more than twenty-eight (28) business days, from the date of receipt of the written grievance. A hearing for a resident who is under suspension which is then in effect shall be held as soon as arrangements may reasonably be made, but not later than fourteen (14) business days from the date of receipt of the grievance.  The Office of Residency Affairs shall notify the parties involved of the time, place and date of the hearing as soon as a hearing date is set.

B.  At least ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled hearing date, each party shall submit to the Office of Residency Affairs a list of witnesses it intends to call at the hearing.  The Office of Residency Affairs will submit the lists to the grievance committee and the parties involved.  It will be the responsibility of the grievant and respondent to arrange for their witnesses to attend the hearing. Witnesses not identified on the list may be called only at the discretion of the chairperson of the grievance committee.

C.   Prior to commencement of the scheduled hearing, the grievance committee shall review the grievance, all documentation, and the result of any conference between the resident and the Residency Program Director held in accordance with Section 1.B.

SECTION  5.      CONDUCT OF HEARING

A.         An accurate record of the hearing shall be made by use of a court reporter or a transcribed recording, as determined by the chair of the grievance committee.

B.         The personal presence of the parties to the grievance is expected. If the grievant fails without good cause to appear, the grievant shall be deemed to have withdrawn his/her grievance. If the other party(ies) fails to appear, the hearing will proceed in the usual manner.

C.         Postponement of hearings beyond the time set forth in this procedure shall be made only with the approval of the chairperson of the grievance committee upon the written request of a party. The granting of such postponements shall only be for good cause shown and in the sole discretion of the chairperson of the grievance committee.

D.         Each party to the grievance shall be entitled to be accompanied by an adviser(s) at the hearing. Each adviser shall be permitted to counsel the party they are advising.  The adviser(s) shall not be permitted to actively participate in presentation of testimony, examination/cross-examination of witnesses, or oral arguments.

E.   The chairperson of the hearing committee shall preside over the hearing to determine the order of the procedure during the hearing to assure that all participants in the hearing have a reasonable opportunity to present relevant oral and documentary evidence and to maintain decorum.

F          The hearing need not be conducted according to rules of law relating to the examination of witnesses or presentation of evidence. The parties for whom the hearing is being held shall, prior to or during the hearing, be entitled to submit memoranda concerning any issue of procedure or of fact related to the grievance, and such memoranda shall become a part of the hearing record.

G    The grievant shall first present witnesses and other evidence in support of the grievance, following which the respondent shall present witnesses and other evidence in support of its position. In the case of a grievance challenging the non-promotion, termination or non-renewal of a resident's appointment, the respondent shall proceed first, followed by the grievant.

H.         Both parties shall have the following rights: to call and examine witnesses, to introduce written evidence, to cross-examine any witness on any matter relevant to the grievance and to rebut any evidence.

I           The chairperson of the hearing committee may recess the hearing and reconvene the same for convenience of the participants or for the purpose of obtaining new or additional evidence or consultation. Upon conclusion of the presentation of oral and written evidence, the hearing shall be closed. The hearing committee may, thereupon, at a time convenient to itself, conduct its deliberations outside the presence of the parties for whom the hearing was convened.

J     Within ten (10) business days after final adjournment of the hearing, the hearing committee shall make a written report and recommendation and shall forward the same, along with all supporting documentation, to the Dean of the School of Medicine and the Chief Executive Officer of the employing hospital.

K.   The recommendations of the grievance committee should be limited to addressing the specific complaint and the remedy sought in Section 3, item A4.  If the action being grieved involves the dismissal of a resident, non-promotion, or non-renewal of a residents contract, the recommendation of the grievance committee should consist of a recommendation to either uphold or not uphold the program’s action, along with a discussion of the rationale for the recommendation.

SECTION 6.       DECISION

The Dean of the School of Medicine and the Chief Executive Officer shall review the grievance committee's written report and supporting documentation and jointly render a decision within fifteen (15) business days after receipt of such report and recommendation.

A copy of the decision shall be forwarded to the parties to the grievance, by certified mail, return receipt requested, and to the Designated Institutional Official, the Department Chairperson and the Residency Program Director. This decision shall be immediately effective and final and shall not be subject to appeal.

SECTION 7.       REVISION

This Grievance Procedure may be revised as needed by the Graduate Medical Education Committee.  Such revisions shall not take effect earlier than the expiration date of the then current Agreement With Physician (resident contract).

Revised and adopted by GMEC September 14, 2001
Revised and adopted by GMEC November 21, 2003
Revised and adopted by GMEC January 15, 2008

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