Admission into a medical residency program at one of Delaware's many esteemed institutions is a significant accomplishment. It's the next step in becoming a fully-licensed doctor entrusted with public care. Nevertheless, even hard-working medical residents of good character can make mistakes. Between the rigorous medical education, long hours of hands-on patient care, and novel personal and professional ethical behavior management, medical residents can land themselves in trouble.
If you are alleged to have committed ethical misconduct at your Delaware medical residency program, you'll be held accountable by your supervisor, hospital, and state ethics board. Sanctions often include termination from your residency, all but closing the door on your future of practicing medicine and saving lives.
While grievance procedures can leave you thinking your career is over, there is help at hand. Retaining the professional assistance of a medical resident advisor will ensure that you have the best chance of defending yourself and remaining in your program.
Delaware Medical Residency Governing Authorities
As your medical residency progresses and becomes more challenging, your risk of making a mistake in a life-threatening situation increases. Not only will your residency supervisor hold you accountable, but so will the state government.
The Delaware Board of Medical Licensure & Discipline promotes public health, safety, and welfare and protects the public from the unprofessional, improper, unauthorized, or unqualified practice of medicine. To meet these objectives, the Board:
- Adjudicates complaints and imposes disciplinary sanctions
- Develops competency and licensure standards
- Implements rules and regulations for healthcare professionals
While ethical guidelines may vary slightly by program, all are drawn from more widespread regulatory policies and procedures.
ACGME Core Competency Requirements
The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) is an independent organization that sets and monitors educational and ethical standards to prepare medical residents for patient care. Programs in Delaware adhere to the ACGME's six Core Competencies when evaluating the proficiency of medical residents.
- Interpersonal and Communication Skills: Utilize positive communication skills with patients and co-workers to build beneficial relationships.
- Medical Knowledge: Demonstrate that you can uphold patient care without supervision.
- Patient Care and Procedural Skills: Present correct, ACGME-approved methods for patient care and handle their personal information discreetly.
- Practice-based Learning and Improvement: Display improvements in your medical care through hands-on training.
- Professionalism: Follow personal and professional ethical regulations.
- Systems-based Practice: Work systematically in your specialty and show your supervisor that you can identify problems and provide solutions when issues arise.
Personal and Professional Ethical Behavior Violations
Medical residents will receive extensive instruction on maintaining good behavior in the program and in public. The American Medical Association (AMA) established a nationwide set of ethical guidelines to promote publicly entrusted doctors in providing the best standard of patient care. Examples of ethical, personal, and professional violations include:
- Bribery
- Criminal charges (misdemeanor and felony)
- Failing to mitigate residency stress
- Research misconduct
- Sexual assault/harassment
- Unprofessional use of social media
- Verbal abuse toward patients, visitors, or other medical care providers
- Withholding conflicts of interest
Delaware Medical Residency Grievance Process
Whether the issue is personal or professional, violating your program's ethics guidelines can destroy your reputation and threaten your career. Typically, unethical conduct leads to suspending or revoking a license to practice medicine in Delaware. Therefore, it's essential to understand how the sanctioning body will proceed before you enter the grievance process.
- The Delaware Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline will "triage" a complaint by its priority and assign an investigator.
- The investigator will report to the Attorney General's office if they believe a statute has been violated.
- The Attorney General's office will decide whether to file a formal complaint.
- An administrative hearing will be held conducted by a hearing officer.
- The hearing officer will listen to arguments from the accuser (complainant) and accused (respondent).
- The hearing officer will make a recommendation to the Board, including disciplinary action.
The Board may agree or disagree with the hearing officer's recommendation for punishment. Doctors, nurses, and medical residents can also enter into consent agreements to settle the case. According to a report from Delaware Online, it's an "admission to conduct and that conduct violates the law."
Career-Ending Sanctions for Delaware Medical Residents
If medical residents are found responsible for unprofessional or dishonorable personal conduct, they may be subject to:
- Repetition of educational modules and phases
- Restitution
- Revocation, limitation, or suspension of licenses
- Suspension from the program
- Termination of residency
Disciplinary action will damage your reputation in the medical community. Moreover, a list of sanctions levied on healthcare professionals is available through Delaware's Division of Professional Regulation. Consequentially, there's no hiding from the consequences.
Your career is on the line the minute you start your medical residency. Any instance of misconduct will make it difficult to gain admittance to another residency program to practice medicine in another state, as all disciplinary action must be disclosed to hospital boards. Attempting to handle the grievance and subsequent appeals process yourself without the guidance of a professional can cost you the career you've worked years to obtain.
Hiring a Medical Resident Defense Attorney-Advisor to Save Your Residency
With the intimidating prospect of suspension or termination from your residency, you need to hire a professional advisor. Yet, this doesn't mean you'll engage your program in costly litigation.
Medical resident advisor Joseph D. Lento works with future doctors and healthcare professionals across the U.S., defending them against harsh disciplinary sanctions that can hurt their future practice. Even if your hospital board has already handed down punishments, you can fight back and keep your position as a medical resident in one of Delaware's many high-caliber hospitals and medical programs.
The Lento Law Firm doesn't begin their defense of your reputation with lawsuits, as many local Delaware attorneys might. They have the finesse to broker beneficial resolutions on behalf of beleaguered medical residents with a program or hospital's office of general counsel.
If you face allegations of unethical behavior, poor performance, or other violations of your Delaware medical residency program, take your situation as seriously as saving lives and speak to a specialist. Call the Lento Law Firm at (888) 535-3686 or visit the online consultation form for help.
