Residencies at UMass Memorial Medical Center
A medical residency at UMass Memorial Medical Center is a great achievement. If you've reached this point, take a second to congratulate yourself on making it this far. After all, you've just completed years of rigorous academic training, and now, this is your time to shine and demonstrate why you deserve the chance to build a long, rewarding medical career.
Having so much responsibility is a great privilege, but with this privilege comes responsibility. As a resident, you'll be expected to consistently uphold high standards of professionalism and competence. If the center has concerns about your performance, the sanctions they may impose could jeopardize everything you've worked for. To get help with medical residency issues, call the Lento Law Firm now at 888.535.3686.
UMass Memorial Medical Center Policies for Residents
As a UMass Memorial Medical Center resident, you agree to abide by various policies and procedures. These include hospital-specific policies and rules set out by the UMass Chan Medical School and UMass Memorial Health. The most significant policies include the following.
- General Technical Standards: This policy outlines the standards you're expected to demonstrate as a resident. You must, for example, always behave professionally, show keen analytical skills, communicate clearly, and deliver care in line with your level of experience.
- UMMS Personnel Policies: The Personnel Policies set out the rules which affect your day-to-day work at the medical center. This handbook also contains information on how performance is evaluated, disciplinary sanctions, and how to challenge action taken by the medical center.
You'll also be expected to sign a Resident Agreement confirming you agree to follow UMass Memorial Health and UMass Chan Medical School GME guidelines. And if you're on a temporary rotation to UMass Medical Center, you should abide by any additional rules stipulated by the hospital or contained in your agreement.
Collectively, the UMass Medical Center policies outline the scope of your responsibilities and how you're expected to behave while on duty. The hospital will hold you to exacting and rigorous standards – even the slightest policy infringement can have serious consequences.
Policy Violations at UMass Memorial Medical Center
Policy violations at UMass Memorial Medical Center include, but are not limited to:
- breach of patient confidentiality
- failure to meet hospital performance expectations
- behaving unprofessionally towards patients or colleagues
- compromising patient care
- lack of attendance
Any action which could be viewed as falling short of the hospital's strict performance standards is subject to possible disciplinary action. The center, however, is expected to bring any alleged performance deficiencies to your attention as soon as practicable so you may undertake remedial work – or challenge sanctions brought against you.
You should have every opportunity to tell your side of the story if you're facing sanctions at UMass Memorial Medical Center. Joseph Lento can help ensure you have the fair shot you deserve, so to arrange a consultation, call the Lento Law Firm at 888.535.3686 today.
Consequences of Corrective Action
Any resident accused of violating hospital policies faces potentially serious consequences. Corrective actions for academic or performance deficiencies include verbal warnings, written warnings, performance reviews, and extra academic assignments. You may be concerned about how these sanctions reflect on your professional reputation, and they could dent your confidence in your medical abilities.
In some cases, the center may apply severe and even career-ending disciplinary rather than corrective actions. Depending on the misconduct accusations against you, these sanctions may include:
- failure to issue a completion certificate
- non-promotion to the next training year
- immediate dismissal from the program
- suspension or probation
Losing your spot in a residency program could completely derail your career, especially in a competitive field like medicine. If you're dealing with medical residency issues, they should be addressed without delay. Otherwise, they could escalate and become more problematic and stressful to deal with.
Challenging UMass Memorial Medical Center Sanctions
Whether you're facing corrective action or disciplinary action, the center provides a grievance process for you to follow if you wish to challenge the sanctions.
Challenging Corrective Action
You should submit a written appeal within seven working days of the sanction, or within seven days of the center notifying you that your efforts to correct your behavior are insufficient.
You will meet with the Program Director and department chair to discuss matters. If their decision goes against you, then you can appeal it within five days. The GME Associate Dean will, in these cases, make a final decision.
Challenging Disciplinary Action
Should you wish to appeal the more serious category of disciplinary action, you should appeal within seven working days of receiving notice of action against you. You're entitled to a committee hearing and, in some cases, a further appeal before a committee appointed by a senior faculty member. You can present your own evidence and any further information that you wish the center to consider before it makes a final decision.
In all cases, you deserve a fair, impartial hearing. Joseph Lento, an experienced medical resident attorney-advisor, will ensure the center upholds its own due process to protect your best interests.
Medical Resident Support and Representation| Lento Law Firm
Being a medical resident is a great achievement. After working so hard to get where you are, you now deserve the chance to reap the rewards of your efforts. If you're facing misconduct allegations or any other residency issue which could affect your career progression, the Lento Law Firm Team wants to help.
As an experienced attorney-advisor, Joseph Lento can help you negotiate with the UMass Memorial Medical Center. He can advise you on how to build a strong case in your defense, and if necessary, he'll support you as you negotiate a withdrawal.
At the Lento Law Firm, we don't believe that any medical resident should face career issues alone. Call us now at 888.535.3686 or leave us a message online to learn more about how Joseph Lento can help you.
