The Office of the Ombudsperson at the Miller School of Medicine is a venue for addressing concerns, resolving conflicts, dealing with problems, and providing advice. This resource is available to faculty, residents, fellows, medical and graduate students, and staff. The Ombudsperson serves as an independent, neutral and confidential resource by providing assistance as follows:
While any work-related issue may be brought to the Ombudsperson, some typical concerns are:
- Career management
- Discrimination
- Work/academic environment and performance
- Fear of retaliation
- Professional misconduct
- Communication with colleagues
- Policies and procedures
- Harassment
What happens during a visit to the Ombudsperson Office?
Visits are scheduled for one hour. To assure confidentiality, we ask that all parties involved agree not to record meeting conversations.Introduction to Our Principles
We will start by going over the four main principles of the office: confidentiality, neutrality, independence and informality.
- Our conversations are confidential. Your name and identifying characteristics will not be revealed. Confidentiality cannot be promised for threats to public safety or an imminent risk of serious harm to self or others.
- Our role is to be neutral. We advocate for productive communication and fair processes.
- The office is independent—separate from and not dependent on any other college office.
- Our conversation is informal. We can direct you to resources if you want to make a formal complaint of any kind. The office is not a mandatory reporter.
Discussion of Options
After the introduction, we’ll talk about what brought you to the office and discuss your options.
- It’s important to hear the whole story, everything you have to say. We will check in with you as we talk to make sure we’re understanding things accurately.
- We’ll explore a range of choices for what you want to do next. If appropriate, we can suggest resources that might be helpful, like taking a quiz on conflict styles or contacting a campus office.
- At the end of our conversation, we’ll discuss scheduling another visit, if needed.
Whatever we decide, we will ask you to get back in touch anytime you’d like to meet again.