One Step Closer to a Lucrative and Specialized Medical Career
You graduated from medical school. You successfully completed a competitive residency program. Now, you are well on your way to becoming an expert and leader in a specialized field of medicine by taking part in a coveted medical fellowship program. The training you will receive in this program will set you up for success.
You've given seven or more years to your medical training – and that's just so far. By gaining a coveted spot in a highly selective fellowship program, you will gain the experiential, hands-on training necessary to work in a medical sub-specialty like psychiatry, surgery, or cardiology. It's an achievement that will set you apart from your peers as you enter the job market. What you'll learn during your fellowship training will not only make you a better physician – it will prepare you for a successful and lucrative career in the field of medicine.
Not everyone who graduates with a medical degree has what it takes to get into a fellowship program. It requires top-notch grades, a great bedside manner, and a dedication to medicine. If you are part of a medical fellowship program at a leading institution, you've already shown you are a cut above the rest – a passionate, committed physician who is ready to develop a higher understanding of specialized medical practice. You are one of the best and brightest in an already outstanding group of medical residents – and you obviously strive for excellence in your work.
Given how hard you've worked to get to where you are, it's important to protect your investment of time, training, and money. It's vital you understand that any allegation of a code of conduct violation can derail a promising career – and should be dealt with by a team of experienced and trusted professionals who understand the ins and outs of disciplinary actions at medical fellowship programs.
Medical Fellowship Policies
Medical fellowship programs, like medical residency programs, are known to be rigorous. Your academic and practical excellence have well prepared you to succeed in this challenging and exciting program, where you will apply what you learned as a student and resident in a sub-specialized area of medicine. Your program, at one of the top-tier teaching hospitals in the United States, has high expectations for your conduct and education. They will expect a lot of you – and rightly so. Given just how competitive medical fellowship programs are, there is no room for physicians who are not wholly committed to success. To guide you as you continue your medical education, your institution will provide you with specific, documented standards that you must meet in order to complete the program and put that illustrious institutional name on your resume.
When you joined the fellowship program, you were likely provided with a comprehensive Code of Conduct, as well as a Resident/Fellow Policy Manual, to follow. These important documents outline exactly what is expected of each fellow. Given the fact that you are one of the top medical trainees across the country, you should expect your program to set exacting and specific standards. Having that kind of highly regulated professional environment not only protects patients and other staff – it protects you, too. Some of the most common policy categories for medical fellows include:
- Professional conduct. Medical trainees, at any level, are expected to conduct themselves at the highest level of ethical standards. As medical fellows undergo this vital sub-specialty training, they will be expected to exhibit honesty and integrity in their work; maintain good relationships with faculty, staff, students, and patients; respect hospital property; and be a good stewards of institutional resources.
- Compliance. Medical fellows must also comply with local and federal laws, as well as institutional policies regarding the security and confidentiality of patient information and documentation of patient encounters. They will also be expected to help maintain a drug-free workplace, dress in a professional manner, and act in a collegial manner with other fellows, researchers, clinicians, and staff.
- Discrimination or discriminatory harassment. Today's leading teaching institutions pride themselves on diversity, inclusion, and equity. As a fellow, you must understand how your hospital or organization defines discrimination or discriminatory harassment, including sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence, or stalking.
- Performance Evaluations. Medical fellows, despite their already- stellar education and stature, are still trainees. They should expect comprehensive policies regarding the evaluation of their training, how to deal with academic and non-academic deficiencies, review procedures, and administrative leave.
- Conflicts of Interest. Fellows have reached a level of training that may enable them to moonlight with other hospitals or healthcare providers. They may also be asked to participate in commercial incentive programs or contract negotiations that might call into question their ability to put the patient first. It is important that fellows thoroughly understand their fellowship institution's policies when it comes to potential conflicts of interest – and follow them to the letter.
- Patient care. As a fellow, you will have more responsibilities to provide care directly to patients. It is vital that you provide evidence-based care of the highest quality.
- Trust and integrity in research. Many fellowship programs also include research opportunities. Your institution will have strict standards in place regarding institutional review boards, protections for human research participants, and the integrity of scientific design, clinical trial procedures, and data collection.
- Employment guidelines and procedures. While you are still a trainee in a fellowship program, you are also an employee of the institution. Your program will highlight its policies regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion; leave policy and guidelines; closures and reductions in programs; and accommodations for persons with disabilities. There will also be important information about benefits and support services.
When you join your fellowship program, it is important that you thoroughly read the Code of Conduct and other important institutional policies. It is expected that you follow them to the letter. If you don't, you may find that you are charged with a Code of Conduct violation that could lead to your suspension or even your dismissal from the fellowship program.
Risks of Violating Medical Fellowship Policies
Like residency programs, medical fellows are held to high and exacting standards. You are the best of the best. That sort of excellence brings with it high expectations. The manual you were given upon entry to the program, filled with details about each and every institutional policy, also provides information about what can happen if you violate any of the program's rules, regulations, or bylaws. An allegation of a Code of Conduct or fellowship program violation can lead to disciplinary actions that can affect how you are evaluated in the program – and may even interfere with your being able to complete it. In extreme cases, violations of your fellowship program's policies can lead to suspension or being asked to leave the program altogether.
It is clear that these sorts of allegations and disciplinary actions can significantly impact your work in the medical field – not just today, but long into the future. To get where you are today, you've already graduated from medical school, as well as completed a residency program. You've put in the blood, sweat, and tears to excel as a researcher or clinician and are so close to gaining the credentials you need to develop the kind of career you've always dreamed about. That is why it is paramount that you handle any policy or Code of Conduct violation allegation in the right way.
If you are facing charges related to unprofessional conduct, personal misconduct, misappropriation of resources, patient confidentiality violations, research ethics violations, or other allegations of not following your medical fellowship program's policies to the letter, it not only puts your placement in the program at risk. It can also affect whether you will matriculate from the program – or even be allowed to continue in the medical field. You've already sacrificed so much to achieve a placement in a competitive fellowship program. It's essential that you protect the time, money, and resources you've put into your medical career, as well as your future opportunities as a clinician or researcher. By engaging the services of trusted Attorney-Advisor Joseph D. Lento and his experienced Fellowship Defense team, you are in a much better position to protect your investment – and work in the medical career you've been working so hard to achieve.
Protective Procedures for Medical Fellows
Fortunately, your fellowship institution did not only document its policies in detail – it also has detailed procedures regarding due process if you are accused of a policy violation. Most top-tier medical institutions commit to providing fellows who are accused of a policy violation a way to defend themselves before any decisions are made about consequences. You may have heard about due process in court proceedings, or on your favorite cop drama show. Simply stated, it is a standardized way of dealing with any alleged policy violations. It protects your rights by first notifying you of any allegation of policy violation – and the resulting investigation. It also provides you with multiple opportunities to provide evidence and defend yourself against any charges.
At most fellowship institutions, if a policy violation is alleged, the program director and other key program stakeholders will meet with the fellow immediately. This not only provides notice of the allegation but gives the fellow an opportunity to explain the potential issue – and his or her side of the story. At this point, there may be an investigation into the matter – and the fellow may be called into further meetings to gather more information and evidence before the program decides how to handle the charge.
If the charge is serious, and could result in a suspension or dismissal from the program, there should always be a procedure in place where fellows can challenge the decision. Often, that opportunity involves pleading your case before a fellowship program committee made up of faculty, administration, and, sometimes, other members of the fellowship program. Institutions work hard to ensure that these committees are made up of impartial members without any conflict of interest. They will review the allegation, the results of the investigation, and the fellow's defense before coming to any decision about the matter.
When you are working in a field as important as medicine, It may feel like a policy violation allegation shouldn't be a big deal. Maybe, after receiving the notification of allegation, you felt surprised, scared, or even angry. But it isn't something you can sweep under the rug. It's critical that you have the right support to address the issue. Your work as a physician is built on a foundation of solid ethics and professionalism. If they are called into question, you want to have a knowledgeable Attorney-Advocate by your side to advise you and, ultimately, make sure the charges are properly dealt with.
Finding the Right Medical Fellowship Representation
You have worked too hard to get where you are. Trying to handle a potential disciplinary or policy violation charge on your own is a risk you should not contemplate. Instead, retain a qualified Attorney-Advisor, who has experience in working with medical fellowship consideration committees through the investigatory and hearing process.
At this stage of your medical training, there are many policies and procedures that must be followed. The good news is there are also policies and procedures to protect you if you are accused of an alleged policy violation. But, without an experienced Attorney-Advocate by your side, you may not always be aware of when, where, or how you can take advantage of such protections. It is also important to note that just because your medical fellowship institution has documented policies and procedures in place, they may not always be followed to the letter. But when you engage medical fellow Attorney-Advisor Joseph D. Lento and his experienced fellowship advocacy team, you can better ensure you will receive a fair hearing. Joseph D. Lento and his premier medical fellow defense team will help you understand the charges brought against you, the procedures that must be followed to address them, and how to best defend yourself against those allegations.
You want the best Attorney-Advisor by your side to help you communicate with program officials, answer charges, and gather evidence to support your defense. Joseph D. Lento is the kind of advocate who will not rest until your voice is heard. And if any decisions are made during your first hearing, Joseph D. Lento and his medical fellow defense team will help you appeal the decision, negotiate more reasonable consequences, or help you attain any necessary emergency relief. In a worst-case scenario, where you are asked to leave the medical fellowship program, Attorney-Advisor Lento and his team can also help you come up with a strategy that will allow you to apply to other fellowship programs or start your career in medicine in the future.
It's important to know, if you are charged with a medical fellowship policy violation, that you are not alone. With Attorney-Advocate Joseph D. Lento and his experienced fellow defense team by your side, you can better protect the career you've worked so hard to achieve. Call 888-535-3686 today for assistance.
