The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences monitors the quality of the learning environment in several ways. A key source of information is, of course, the experience of the learners themselves.
The clinical learning environment is routinely assessed through learner evaluation of the faculty members who have taught or supervised them. Summary information from these routine evaluations is provided to individual faculty members on an annual basis, and contributes to the evaluation of professionalism and teaching in each individual鈥檚 Annual Performance Evaluation. This allows academic staff to reflect on their own performance and to discuss strategies for improvement with their academic Chair. It also allows the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences to formally recognize strong performance in these important areas.
For clinical learning environments, summary information from the Faculty鈥檚 Office for Respectful Environments (ORE) is provided to Departments annually, to allow units to track overall learning environment 鈥渉ealth.鈥�
Addressing concerns of mistreatment in the learning environment
The Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences monitors the clinical learning environment with particular vigilance. Any report by a learner of possible mistreatment is taken seriously, and processes are in place to address them. The reporting and review process will vary with the context. Instances of mistreatment in a clinical learning environment are reported through the Faculty鈥檚 ORE, while campus-based incidents of mistreatment are referred to the Office of the Dean of Students.
When a reported concern is confirmed to be mistreatment, mediation may be useful and, if necessary, remedial activities may be recommended. The vast majority of reports of mistreatment are effectively addressed in this way. However, if an incident is recurrent, or if remediation does not lead to improvement, the matter may be referred to the Vice-Dean, Academic Affairs, and a formal investigation would be undertaken according to Section 9 of the Regulations Relating to the Employment of Academic Staff. For concerns of mistreatment in campus-based settings, the Faculty works closely with McGill鈥檚 Director,聽Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in the Office of the Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic).
Due process, confidentiality and feedback
The confidentiality of the person reporting a concern and of the faculty member involved are protected to the extent possible throughout these processes. Faculty members have the opportunity to respond to allegations. The formal disciplinary process is governed by McGill Regulations to ensure due process. Privacy legislation means that learners cannot be told the outcomes of interventions, although they can be advised that necessary actions have been taken.