Division of Colorectal Surgery

Policies and Procedures

Disciplinary Action

The department reserves the right to discipline residents who fail to abide by the policies of the department as stated in this policy manual, or who fail to conduct themselves in a fashion which would be considered reasonable and prudent by the leadership of the department. Disciplinary actions available to the department are as follows.

1. WARNING. Residents who perform in an unacceptable fashion or violate policy in a minor way may be given a warning. Warnings may be either verbal, in the case of a minor infraction, or written, for a more significant misstep. Although a written warning will be placed in the resident's file for documentation purposes and for subsequent review by the program director, warnings will generally not be reported when subsequent inquiries are made by state medical boards or other credentialing bodies. Repeated warnings about same or similar offenses may be cause for further review, however, and may possibly lead to a more serious disciplinary action.

2. REPRIMAND. Residents who perform in a more egregious fashion or violate policy in a more significant way may be given a formal reprimand. The reasons for the reprimand must be fully discussed between the program director and the resident, and appropriate documentation must be provided. A copy of the reprimand will be kept in the resident's file, and will be forwarded to the house staff office. For preliminary residents, a copy will be forwarded to their sub-specialty program director as well. Note that a reprimand will be reported when subsequent inquiries are made by state medical boards or other credentialing bodies.

3. PROBATION. Indications for probation include, but are not limited to: major violations of departmental or hospital policy, behavior deemed unacceptable by the leadership of the department, concerns regarding a resident's clinical abilities, abrogation of clinical/professional duties, sexual misconduct, persistent or uncorrected unacceptable performance on the yearly In-Service Training examination, failure of a resident to progress academically or develop necessary clinical/operative skills, or dishonesty in any form. The reasons for the probation must be fully discussed between the program director and the resident and appropriate documentation provided. The term of the probationary status and the provisions for the probationary status to be lifted must be discussed as well. A formal record of the reasons and terms of the probation will be kept in the resident's file, and a recommendation for probationary status will be forwarded to the house staff office for approval by an executive office of the hospital. Probationary status must be assigned by the Chief Executive Officer of TJUH after review by the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and Affiliations. For preliminary residents, notification will be forwarded to his/her sub-specialty program director as well. Note that a probationary action will be reported when subsequent inquiries are made by state medical boards or other credentialing bodies.

Placement of a resident on academic probation is a significant formal TJUH institutional status, and is grounds for the resident to invoke the Formal Grievance Process contained in the Resident Education Agreement.

4. DISMISSAL. Indications for dismissal are the same as for probation, except that the Program Director and Chairman deem the offense to be sufficiently egregious to warrant immediate dismissal from the program.

Academic Dismissal. Residents may be dismissed from the program in situations where the resident has been unable to meet the performance standard established by the Department, and documented feedback and remediation efforts have been unsuccessful.

Non-Academic Dismissal. Residents may be dismissed from a program by the program director, with approval of the Chair for gross breaches of professionalism, dishonesty, behavior that jeopardized patient safety, or other egregious behaviors.

Dismissal of a resident is grounds for the resident to invoke the Formal Grievance Process contained in the Resident Education Agreement.