Policy 21: Code of Faculty Behavior
Adopted: November 2008
Purpose
This code is a statement of the expectations for professional and personal behavior of faculty members of the Boonshoft School of Medicine. The code pertains to all dealings with students, fellow faculty members and staff, other health care professionals, patients and their families, vendors, government agencies, private foundations, and the individuals, institutions, and organizations with which the School interacts or affiliates to carry out its mission. The purpose of the code is to promote high quality medical education, research, and patient care in an atmosphere of trust and integrity.
Faculty members of the Boonshoft School of Medicine carry out professional activities in at least one of six areas:
- Teaching and advising students enrolled in the School of Medicine or in other schools or colleges within Wright State University
- Teaching residents or other trainees in affiliated institutions or organizations
- Advancing biomedical and psychosocial knowledge through research and other scholarly work
- Delivering or supervising the delivery of patient care
- Working with agencies and organizations locally, regionally, nationally or globally to develop and implement programs and practices aimed at improving the health and well-being of communities
- Administering and managing the programs necessary to accomplish the School's mission.
Guidelines
While carrying out their professional activities, it is expected that faculty members will not engage in any of the following behaviors:
- Being deceitful or dishonest
- Disseminating information that is false, misleading, or deceptive
- Making sexual innuendoes or taking actions that constitute sexual harassment
- Making disrespectful or inappropriate comments including but not limited to: epithets, slurs, or negative stereotyping; threatening, intimidating, or hostile comments; denigrating jokes; cursing; rude remarks
- Criticizing students, residents, or colleagues in front of others while in the classroom, laboratory, or clinical setting in such a way as to shame, belittle, or imply stupidity
- Revealing confidential information to anyone not authorized to receive it
- Having romantic and/or sexual relationships with students, residents for whom the faculty member has supervisory responsibility, or with one's patients
All faculty members are expected to support and follow the policies and procedures of the Boonshoft School of Medicine, including the Conflict of Interest Policy. All faculty members are expected to request appropriate approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to human research activities and to abide by all laws and regulations applying to these activities. All faculty members will refrain from fraudulent scientific practices and will accurately report data derived from research.
In addition, conflict management skills and direct communication should be used to address disagreements that arise between faculty members, faculty members and students, and faculty members and others with whom they interact in carrying out their professional activities. Finally, faculty members will not attempt to carry out their professional activities if impaired by alcohol, drugs, or illness.
Faculty members engaged in delivering or supervising the delivery of patient care are expected to:
- Maintain professional knowledge and skills and participate in continuing medical education
- Respond promptly and professionally when called upon by fellow practitioners to provide appropriate consultation or clinical service
- Respond to patient or staff requests promptly and appropriately
- Respect patient confidentiality and privacy at all times and follow all regulations for release of information
- Treat patients and their families and advocates with respect and consideration while following all applicable laws regarding such relationships (release of information, advance directives, etc.)
- Seek appropriate consultation
- Arrange for appropriate coverage when not available
- Work to provide high quality care
- Prepare and maintain medical records within established guidelines
- Provide prompt, pertinent, and appropriate information to other health care providers when transferring or terminating care of a patient
- Assist in the identification of colleagues and health care professionals who may be professionally impaired or disruptive
- Abide by all relevant rules, regulations, policies, and bylaws of affiliated institutions and organizations in which patient care is delivered
- Participate in clinical outcome reviews and quality assurance and improvement programs as outlined in policies and procedures of the institutions and organizations in which patient care is delivered
- Cooperate with legal and regulatory professionals from the School and affiliated institutions and organizations unless such cooperation is prohibited by law
Boonshoft School of Medicine faculty members are also subject to relevant Wright State University and Wright State Physicians, Inc. policies in regard to their professional responsibilities. These include:
- WSU Faculty Handbook: Ethical Standards in the Conduct of Research
- WSU Ethics Policy
- WSU Faculty Handbook: Academic Freedom and Responsibilities
- For faculty covered by the CBA: Article 3 Non-discrimination, Article 5 Faculty Responsibilities
- WSU Affirmative Action Policy: Policy Against Discrimination and Harassment
- BSOM Student Fair Treatment Policy
- WSP Policy and Procedure Manual: Ethics and Conflicts of Interest (PDF); Harassment and/or Discrimination (PDF); and Disruptive Behavior (PDF)
Implementation
Bargaining unit faculty members in matrixed departments are subject to the guidelines for behavior contained in CBA Articles 3 and 5, and the procedures for implementation in CBA Articles 14 and 16.
All other School faculty members must submit an acknowledgement of receipt and attestation of compliance of the Code of Faculty Behavior. The acknowledgement is submitted at initial hire and annually along with the conflict of interest statement (see Conflict of Interest Policy).
The chair of each department in the School will review any complaints or concerns about a faculty member's potential non-compliance with the guidelines contained in the Code of Faculty Behavior with the person who lodged the complaint or concern and with the faculty member, adhering to all relevant WSU fair treatment policies and procedures for both the person making the complaint and the faculty member. After review by the chair or designee, a report of findings will be submitted to the Dean of the School of Medicine who will undertake further corrective and/or disciplinary action as indicated.
Conflict of Interest Disclosures are public information and are available on the Web at https://bsom.wright.edu/fmi/webd/Conflict%20of%20Interest.
