Non-Involvement of Healthcare Providers in Learner Assessment and Promotion

Rationale

Medical learners commonly seek healthcare from faculty members and resident physicians given the proximity, convenience, and size of our local medical community. If a learner elects to establish a provider relationship with a faculty member or resident, that healthcare provider is precluded from serving as an evaluator or being involved in promotion decisions.

Scope

This procedure applies to all medical learners, teaching faculty, and residents at the Brody School of Medicine and ECU Health

Responsibilities

Medical Learners: Learners must identify themselves as a current medical learner at the Brody School of Medicine with each provider associated with ECU Health Physicians (if they wish for the faculty/resident to enforce this policy). Learners are encouraged to consider seeking healthcare from East Carolina University Student Health Service and ECU Counseling providers to avoid a conflict of interest. These providers have no overlap with BSOM learner evaluation and promotion. Learners are required to make a Course/Clerkship Director aware if they have a possible conflict of interest related to their role as a patient of a faculty member or resident physician who is scheduled to evaluate them.

BSOM Faculty and Resident Physicians: Faculty/residents who provide health services to a medical learner must recuse themselves from the evaluation of/promotion discussions regarding that learner. In general, faculty who are Course/Clerkship Directors or who serve on BSOM Review and Promotion Committees should refrain from seeing medical learners as patients. This requires that they communicate with their service line leadership to make the patient access staff aware of this restriction. Clerkship Directors should work with their service line leadership to create systems that funnel learners (as patients) away from key course faculty as healthcare providers.

ECU Health Physicians Medical Director: The Chief Medical Officer of ECU Health Physicians will review/offer edits to this policy every three years. The Chief Medical Officer is responsible for assisting Course/Clerkship Directors in their communication with service line leadership and the creation of scheduling systems that prevent medical learners from scheduling healthcare appointments with key course faculty.

Procedures for Implementation and Review

This procedure is to be reviewed by the Associate Deans for Student Affairs and the Chief Medical Officer of ECU Health Physicians every three years.

This procedure will be disseminated by the Office of Student Affairs to students and teaching
faculty/administration as part of a ‘student handbook’ during orientation each year.

Applicable Laws, Regulations & Standards

LCME Standard 12, Element 5