The University of New Mexico School of Medicine has created a new office to address mistreatment of students, residents and fellows.
The Dean of the UNM School of Medicine Paul Roth sent an email in June to students, residents and fellows saying he owed them a “heartfelt apology” because the school did not meet students' expectations of a professional, safe and supportive learning environment.
He said they’d make systemic changes to improve the culture at the school.
The new Learning Environment Office gives students access to a new online reporting tool. It also establishes a system for collecting and tracking instances of mistreatment that aren’t forwarded to UNM’s Office of Equal Opportunity. According to the center’s website, the new office will investigate some kinds of mistreatment including humiliation, psychological or physical punishment and using grading and other forms of assessment in a punitive way.
Last month med school leadership informed students that the school was found to be non-compliant by its accrediting agency in one standard regarding its learning environment, but it was still reaccredited for another eight years.
Roth did not return a request for comment before air time. See his full email here:
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