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PROCEDURE FOR APPEAL OF ACADEMIC DECISIONS INCLUDING SUSPENSION OR TERMINATION FROM, OR NO-REAPPOINTMENT TO, A UMMC GRADUATE MEDICAL EDUCATION (GME) PROGRAM.

PREAMBLE:

Graduate Medical Education (GME) training programs at the University of Michigan are conducted in conformance with the Institutional and Program standards set forth by the ACGME. While the Regents and Hospital Executive Board are ultimately accountable for institutional support for our GME programs, the responsibility for the day to day conduct of each program is vested in the Program Director and the Department Chair. They are responsible for academic decisions including but not limited to: resident appointments, promotions/re-appointments, curriculum requirements, specification of privileges, academic counseling, training methodologies, and assessment of academic progress. The Program Director is held accountable by the Board for certifying the professional competence of each trainee.

PROCEDURE:

Each GME training program has internal policies and procedures associated with the re-appointment, evaluation, suspension or termination of enrolled residents. There also exist intradepartmental mechanisms to challenge these and other academic decisions. After all reviews and appeals within the GME program have been concluded, if the resident desires an institutional review of a departmental academic decision, the resident shall submit a written request for appeal to the Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Medical Education or the Department Chair within 30 calendar days of the departmental decision. This initiates the following procedures:

1. The Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Medical Education shall convene the Graduate Medical Education Review Board (GMERB) within 10 calendar days of receiving the request for review of the matter, or as soon thereafter as practicable. The request must be in writing. No GMERB members from the resident's department may participate in the review.
2. The resident must provide, in writing, two copies of a proposed remedy with supporting facts and arguments. These copies must be received by the Associate Dean and Director of GME 5 calendar days prior to the date set for the GMERB review.
3. The Program Director shall provide, in writing, two copies of the reasons, with supporting documentation, for the departmental decision. These copies must be received by the Associate Dean and Director of GME 5 calendar days prior to the date set for the review.
4. The Associate Dean and Director of GME shall provide the resident and the Program Director with a copy of the other's written presentation 2 calendar days prior to the GMERB review.
5. The resident and the Program Director may respond, in writing, to the other's written presentation prior to the review.
6. The Associate Dean and Director of GME will set a time for the GMERB to consider the appeal. At the appeal meeting, the resident shall have an opportunity to present his/her case. The Program Director or a representative will likewise be scheduled for an oral presentation before the GMERB.
7. The resident may review all documents considered by the GMERB and may question any witnesses who appear before the GMERB. The resident may also present his/her own evidence and witnesses. The resident may be accompanied by an advisor, identified by the resident by name and title 5 days in advance of the meeting with the GMERB, who may advise the resident, but may not otherwise participate in the review.
8. The members of the GMERB may ask questions and request the presence of others to give testimony.
9. Following the review, the Graduate Medical Education Review Board shall meet in executive session and forward its recommendations to the Dean and the Hospital Director. The decision of the Dean and Hospital Director shall be final and binding on all parties.

The time frames established for each of the steps may be adjusted by mutual agreement between the resident requesting the appeal and the Associate Dean and Director of Graduate Medical Education. In no instance shall the total process be extended beyond 90 calendar days.

Endorsed by the Graduate Medical Education Review Board on July 27, 1999