Conflicts of Interest Policy

   

Overview/Rationale

This policy serves to guide faculty and students in identifying, disclosing, and managing situations where potential conflicts of interest could compromise the objectivity, fairness, or independence of educational activities and decision-making processes at the medical school.  

Accreditation 

LCME Accreditation Standard:

1.2: Conflict of Interest Policies 

10.2 Final Authority of Admission Committee 

12.5 Non-involvement of Providers of Student Health Services in Student Assessment/Location of Student Health Records 

Stakeholders

Students at VP&S and all faculty members 

For VP&S Faculty 

1. VP&S faculty and staff who provide or have provided clinical care services or have a family or social relationship with; or who have an academic advising or mentoring role for a prospective or enrolled student: 

  • Must recuse themselves from participating in the processes of selecting such candidate(s) for an interview and admissions deliberations/decisions about any candidates with relationships as described above. 
  • Must not participate in a Committee on Academic Progress or Committee on Academic Standards review, discussion, or decision-making regarding students with the above relationships or from whom they received the medical care from. 
  • If the individuals with relationships as above know personal or medical information regarding a student, they must not  provide written or verbal statements regarding the student’s medical care or the nature of the student’s condition or other private information to the School of Medicine administration or other bodies unless specifically requested by the student under their care unless the appropriate written consent has been provided. Exceptions to the requirement of consent include the presence of life-threatening physical or mental conditions or other legally covered limits of confidentiality. 
  • Health professionals who provide or receive any health services, including psychiatric/psychological counseling, to/from a medical student may have no involvement in the academic assessment or promotion of the student receiving those services.  Similarly, they may not access the student's records in accordance with legal requirements for security, privacy, confidentiality, and accessibility of patient information. 

2. VP&S Faculty who have participated in supervision, assessment, grading, advising, mentoring, or academic advancement decisions for a student: 

  • Must not solicit that student as a patient in their clinical practice. 
  • May accept a student's request for medical care with the understanding that they will adhere to this policy. 

3. To promote equity and opportunity for mentoring, we require that VP&S faculty and staff with familial or social relationships with an enrolled student: 

  • Must not serve in any academic progress or advancement review, discussion, or decision-making role for that student.  
  • Must not serve in any supervisory/evaluative capacity for that student.  
  • must not serve in a mentoring capacity even for situations that do not formally contribute to academic progress or advancement decisions 

For VP&S Students: 

  • Medical students may not be involved in any portion of the care of other VP&S medical students.  
  • Medical students should not be involved in any portion of the care of faculty members who have a role in the academic assessment or promotion of that student.  

Procedures

This policy will be posted on the school website. It will be shared with students at school orientation and MCY orientation. The policy will be shared with teaching faculty.  

A student may request reassignment if a perceived conflict of interest exists with a faculty member by contacting the course/clerkship director and, if appropriate, the Curricular Affairs Dean before the beginning of the course or clerkship. They also may request reassignment from the course/clerkship/elective director on the first day of the course. 

Faculty will be required to attest via a question on final course assessment form(s) that they have not provided clinical care to a student before they complete an assessment on the student. They will be instructed not to complete the assessment if they have provided care to the student.  

Faculty will be informed that if they provide health care services to students, they must not be involved in student assessment.  The CUIMC Conflict of Interest Attestation includes the following language:

“Providers of Health Services to Students: Non-Involvement in Student Assessment Nor Access to Student Health Records: Faculty and other health professionals who provide any health services, including psychiatric/psychological counseling, to a medical/nursing/dental/graduate student cannot be involved in the academic assessment or promotion of the student receiving those services.  Similarly, health providers cannot access the student’s health records - in accordance with legal requirements for security, privacy, confidentiality, and accessibility of patient information.” 

Process for Admissions 

Admissions Committee Conflict of Interest Policy/Procedure 

At VP&S, Admissions Committee members identify conflicts of interest as early as possible. Committee members are advised to bring any conflict (e.g. Familial, alumni, or donor relations) to the attention of the Senior Associate Dean for Admissions as soon as they become aware of the situation. Any conflict is resolved by reassigning applicants before the applicant’s interview and committee presentation. Committee members with a conflict of interest must recuse themselves from both discussions of and voting on a candidate with whom they have a potential conflict. 

In addition, members of the Admissions Committee, Admissions Staff, or a member of the staff in Information and Technology Services, will have access to information provided by, and on behalf of, applicants to VP&S.  

Admission Committee Members are required to attest to the following: 

By selecting “I Accept” below, I hereby agree that I will not disclose any Confidential Information about any applicant or group of applicants to anyone outside the Committee on Admissions or admissions staff. I will direct any questions regarding this policy or regarding Confidential Information on any applicant or group of applicants to the Associate Dean and Director of Admissions.