Rather than discipline, the Program Administrator and the nurse anesthesia program faculty members may elect for student performance improvement for issues in such areas as academic performance or professionalism issues. It is recognized that several issues may lead to remediation related to academic and professional problematic behavior, and are defined as (but not limited to):
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An inability or unwillingness to acquire and integrate academic/professional standards into one’s repertoire of acceptable behavior;
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An inability or unwillingness to acquire and integrate academic/professional skills to work effectively in a group or inability to maintain group assigned responsibilities.
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An inability or unwillingness to adaptively manage personal stress, psychological dysfunction, and/or excessive emotional reactions that interfere with academic/professional functioning.
Professional judgement by the Program Administrator and the nurse anesthesia program faculty members is utilized to determine when a student’s behavior rises to the level of remediation or discipline.
Examples of problems which usually require performance improvement include one or more of the following traits:
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The student does not acknowledge, understand, or address the problem when it is identified;
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The problem is not a simple reflection of a skill deficit that can be remedied by academic advising or coaching;
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The quality of academic work delivered by the student is deemed consistently below the level expected of a doctorate program;
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The problem is not restricted to one area of academic/professional functioning;
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A disproportionate amount of work is done by other group members
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The student’s behavior does not change as a function of feedback and/or time;
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The problematic behavior has ethical or legal ramifications for the department;
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The student’s behavior when representing the department negatively affects the public view of the department.
Performance Improvement plans will be written by the Program Director and signed by the Program Administrator and the student. The contract's content is dependent on the type and scope of identified problematic behavior and is at the discretion of the Program Administrator and the nurse anesthesia program faculty.
Failure to successfully complete a performance improvement plan may result in disciplinary action, including a formal written warning, progressions committee involvement, and/or program probation, suspension, or dismissal.