Policy Review History:

Faculty Council approved—09/27/2017

Policy Faculty Council revision approved - 02/24/2021, 03/28/2025, 02/03/2026, 07/29/2026

It is the expectation of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences (hereafter referred to as the Jacobs School) that all members of the school’s community are treated with respect. The learning environment must be inclusive and supportive of individuals regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military status, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, familial status, marital status, pregnancy, domestic violence victim status, or criminal conviction, and all other protected categories under federal and state laws (“protected status”).

The purpose of this policy is to define mistreatment and inappropriate behaviors and provide mechanisms for reporting violations of this policy.

This policy applies to all members of the Jacobs School including faculty, staff, and learners (including all undergraduate, graduate, and medical students, fellows and residents, visiting students, and post-doctoral fellows)

The Jacobs School defines mistreatment and inappropriate/incompatible behaviors as any violation of the policies set forth in this document

The Jacobs School recognizes that preparation for a career in biomedical sciences, including the practice of medicine, demands the acquisition of a large fund of knowledge and a host of special skills. It also demands the strengthening of those virtues that undergird the doctor–patient or scientist-community relationship that sustain the profession of the biomedical sciences as a moral enterprise.

Educators have a duty to convey the knowledge and skills required for delivering the profession’s contemporary standards and ethical implementation of the scientific method. Educators have a responsibility to inculcate the values and attitudes required for preserving the profession’s social contract across generations and to foster an environment of application of knowledge and skills without prejudice. It is the educator’s responsibility to foster a supportive and inclusive learning environment.

A learning environment conducive to conveying professional values must be suffused with integrity. Learners acquire enduring lessons of professionalism by observing and emulating role models who epitomize authentic professional values and attitudes.

Fundamental to the ethics of medicine and the biomedical sciences is respect for every individual, be they learners, faculty, staff, patients, or anyone who falls within their sphere of contact. Mutual respect between learners, as novice members of their chosen profession, and their educators, as experienced and esteemed professionals, is essential for nurturing that ethic. Given the inherently hierarchical nature of the educator–learner relationship, educators have a special obligation to ensure that learners are always treated respectfully.

Fundamental to the advancement of medicine and biomedical sciences is not only the diversity of thought but also the diverse perspectives of each individual’s lived experience. Therefore, educators and learners should ensure that they practice inclusivity, impartiality and embrace diversity. 

1. Ensure that all components of the educational program for learners are of high quality.
2. Maintain high professional standards in all interactions with colleagues, staff, learners, members of our community, and those we serve.
3. Respect all learners as individuals, regardless of their protected status; we do not tolerate anyone who manifests disrespect or who expresses biased attitudes towards any learner.
4. Nurture both the intellectual and the personal development of learners, and celebrate expressions of professional attitudes and behaviors, as well as achievement of academic excellence.
5. Denounce abuse or exploitation of learners.
6. Encourage any learner who experiences mistreatment or who witnesses unprofessional behavior to report the facts immediately as outlined in this document and treat all such reports as confidential.
7. Do not tolerate reprisals or retaliations of any kind.
8. Adhere to the policies and procedures of the Jacobs school and UB, and SUNY designed to create an equitable and inclusive learning environment. 

1. Give their utmost effort to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required to fulfill the educational objectives established by their degree granting program.
2. Practice the professional virtues of honesty, compassion, integrity, fidelity, and dependability.
3. Treat all individuals with behavior and language that shows respect and inclusivity. 
4. Maintain the highest standards of the medical and biomedical professions and conduct themselves accordingly in all interactions with faculty and staff, other learners, members of our community, and those we serve.
5. Adhere to the policies and procedures of the school and UB, designed to create an equitable and inclusive learning environment. 

The tenets described below are drawn from the principles outlined by Cohen in “Our Compact with Tomorrow’s Doctors” [1]. The examples below are also derived from and utilize the AAMC’s “Appropriate Treatment of Research Trainees (AToRT)” characterization of perceived impact of the behavior on the learner, faculty, and staff [2]. These are behaviors that fall outside of Title VII and Title IX and do not cross legal thresholds.

Examples:

1. Failing to provide an environment that respects learning and education, such as ignoring the learner or failing to complete a teaching assignment, including submitting required assessments.
2. Not responding to requests for feedback or accommodation in a timely manner
3. The use of “abusive” questioning above the classical “Socratic” design.  Questions designed or intended to humiliate or badger any member of the learning environment
4. Mocking, mimicking or taunting any members of the learning environment, including learners, patients, faculty, and staff.
5. Making disparaging remarks about colleagues, staff, patients, or learners that are not present
6. Intentional misuse of preferred pronouns, refusing to use the correct pronunciation of an individual’s name, or “deadnaming” an individual who is transgender or transitioning
7. Cursing or use of gender, racial, ethnic or other slurs.
8. Disrespect of boundaries (e.g. texts at inappropriate times, critical comments regarding an individual’s agency/ personal time outside the work/learning environment)
9. Threats or acts of physical violence or intimidating behaviors
10. Threats or acts of retribution or retaliation of any kind.
11. Requesting or requiring a learner to do a task, procedure, or engage in an interaction that will endanger the learner or patient, either directly or indirectly.
12. Romantic or sexual advances toward learners. (“Let’s talk about your evaluation over dinner tonight.”) Sexual humor in the workplace is also deemed inappropriate.

Examples:

1. Asking the learner to do anything that is contradictory to the Jacobs School policies and procedures.
2. Requesting personal services from a learner (“Would you go down and pick up my dry cleaning for me?” “Could you come over and babysit tonight while you are studying?”)
3. Assigning duties to learners as punishment rather than for academic or research advancement
4. Leveraging visas to coerce a learner to work more hours or perform other duties above and beyond reasonable expectations
5. Leveraging grades, letters of recommendation, authorship, or annual performance reviews as punishment or coercion rather than as an objective evaluation of competency

Examples:

1. Neglecting a learner’s training progress or facilitating their unwarranted exclusion from reasonable learning, training or research opportunities.
2. Prohibiting a learner from engaging in reasonable professional development activities
3. Coercing/manipulating a learner to quit in the absence of a reasonable justification 

Examples:

1. Assigning grades outside of the learner’s performance in the activity or creating inequities in learning opportunities. (“They weren’t that strong, but they want to go into xx residency, so why don’t we just give them honors?” or the converse, “they are not going into this field, I think we should save the best grades for those students.”)
2. Interacting and evaluating learners based on pre-conceived evaluations or hearsay (“Watch out for this one; this one is trouble.”)
3. Treating individuals solely as a member of a group (“all of you (insert group) are alike”) that may invoke a sense of “other-ness”.

Examples:

1. Failure to respect work-life balance or unreasonable expectations that prohibit personal wellbeing.
2. Excessive monitoring and micromanagement of the work performed by a learner.
3. Pressuring a learner with meeting unrealistic goals and/or not providing clear work expectations; yet, holding them responsible for meeting those expectations
4. Questions regarding this policy may be directed to the Diversity, Inclusion, and Learning Environment Committee who are charged with overseeing this policy. 

For any learner, you can report to the UB-wide Ethics Point System at:

https://secure.ethicspoint.com/

Reporters utilizing EthicsPoint and choosing to remain anonymous may record the case number assigned to their report and utilize the EthicsPoint system to anonymously track the status of their report.

Learners who have experienced discrimination or harassment in violation of UB’s Discrimination and Harassment Policy have the right to consult with the Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion by calling (716) 645-2266, including consulting anonymously if a learner does not want to disclose their name. A learner may file a report of discrimination or harassment directly with the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at any time. More information about reporting discrimination and harassment is available on the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion website.  

For investigations of violations of this Policy by personnel employed by an affiliated hospital or clinic, the director of human resources or the equivalent at that site will be asked to report back to the Senior Associate Dean responsible for the unit in which the investigation took place with the results of the investigation.

Learners can also make a report to their departmental units as described below.

Additionally, learners may report to a trusted member of the faculty, staff or leadership in any of the Offices of Medical Education, or an Ombudsperson. For any reports of behavior that may put others at risk, the faculty or ombudsperson is required to submit an EthicsPoint report if the original reporter is unwilling to do so. This report can and should be submitted anonymously to protect the identity of the original reporter should they wish to remain anonymous.

If a student wishes to report a fellow medical student, they may utilize the above reporting mechanisms, or submit a report directly to the Professional Conduct Committee using this form: https://medicine.buffalo.edu/offices/ome/current/policies/professional-conduct/violations.html.

The relationship between a graduate student and their research advisor is unlike most relationships in academic matriculation. The long-term nature of this relationship, which often extends beyond graduate school, requires a level of commitment and care on the part of both trainee and mentor. It is important to the integrity of the relationship that conflicts between trainee and mentor be addressed quickly and without escalation, if possible. While many issues can be resolved through direct conversation between the mentor and trainee, some may prove more challenging.

If the nature of the disagreement is unable to be resolved, or if the trainee has experienced mistreatment by a faculty member other than their research advisor, the trainee may choose from the following official channels for reporting and resolution. Trainees in the PhD Programs in Biomedical Sciences (PPBS) year should report conflicts/mistreatment either verbally or in writing to the PPBS Program Director and/or a member of the PPBS steering committee. Opportunities to discuss learning environment issues are provided in regularly scheduled town hall meetings where students can share feedback/report grievances to the program director. After the first year, students are encouraged to report conflicts/mistreatment to their Departmental Director of Graduate Studies, the departmental Graduate Affairs Committee and/or Chair of the Department. Should the complaint involve the department chair, students are advised to report to the Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Education, or directly to the Office of the Dean.

Master’s students are encouraged to report conflicts/mistreatment to their program director or department chair. Should the complaint involve the program director and/or department chair, students are advised to report to the Senior Associate Dean for Biomedical Education, or directly to the Office of the Dean.

Undergraduate trainees should report experiences with mistreatment to their academic advisor and/or program director. Those representatives will serve as a mediator between the trainees and faculty involved. Unresolved conflicts will be reported to the Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education.

For academic concerns trainees should follow the Undergraduate Grievance Policy as outlined in the Undergraduate Catalog.

University policy prohibits retaliation against individuals who provide reports or complaints of incidents of mistreatment and/or violation of this policy. Claims of retaliation will be investigated separate from the initial report. Students who experience retaliation for reporting discriminatory or harassing conduct should contact the Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, 406 Capen Hall, Buffalo NY 14260. 716-645-2266.

If a student violates this policy, or fails to adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct the matter will be addressed by the Professional Conduct Committee as outlined in the Code of Professional Conduct.

Reports of non-medical students violating this policy submitted via Ethicspoint, MedHub, or student surveys will be triaged to the Senior Associate Dean for Student and Academic Affairs, the dean in the Office of medical Curriculum who oversees the corresponding curricular phase and/or the direct supervisor of the accused. The individuals receiving the report are responsible for investigating and implementing a resolution should the report be found to be legitimate.

When violation of this policy is reported, the chair of the department will be notified and data will be gathered by the departmental chair, program director and/or director of graduate studies and refer the matter to a committee -composed of faculty and graduate trainees- for a thorough review. Based on the severity of the behavior the committee will provide guidance on the appropriate resolution.

For residents and fellows who fail to adhere to the GME Code of Professional Conduct are subject to actions as described in the Misconduct Policy.

Reports of non-residents/fellows violating this policy will be triaged to the Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Medical Education or their designee and the direct supervisor of the accused. The individuals receiving the report are responsible for investigating and implementing a resolution should the report be found to be legitimate.

The Diversity, Inclusion and Learning Environment committee was developed to promote an inclusive learning environment at the Jacobs School. To ensure that the Jacobs School community is aware of this committee’s presence and of this policy we will do the following.

A discussion of this policy will take place each year during all orientations, and Polity meetings. The policy will be referenced in all course syllabi and at mandatory class meetings. This policy will be posted on the UBLearns page for all courses/clerkships.

A discussion of this policy will be presented to incoming first year trainees during orientation. Department chairs will post this document on their department websites.

Each year this policy will be sent to Jacobs School Faculty members to disseminate to students taking their course.

Each year this policy will be sent to departmental chairs for distribution and to be placed on the departmental websites. It will also be included in the syllabi of all courses/clerkships in which they teach

More information about this policy at our website at: https://medicine.buffalo.edu/faculty-council/committees.html

1. Cohen, J.J., Our compact with tomorrow's doctors. Acad Med, 2002. 77(6): p. 475-80.
2. Working group of the AAMC group on Research, E., and Training (GREAT) Appropriate Treatment of Research Trainees (AToRT). 2021.

2/24/21: Faculty Council voted to approve revisions and inclusion of graduate and undergraduate students.

3/28/25: Faculty Council voted to approve the composition of the committee members.

2/3/26: Updates policy informed by AAMC’s “Appropriate Treatment of Research Trainees (AToRT) to provide concrete descriptors of mistreatment. Additionally updated information on actions to take if policy is violated

7/29/26: Updates policy to include examples of behaviors considered to be abusive, exploitive, or inappropriate. Additionally updates information on reporting of violations and on addressing reports of violations.