Academic Resources
Office for a Respectful Learning Environment
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The Office for a Respectful Learning Environment fosters an educational community in which all learners and educators feel supported, challenged, valued and respected.
This is a community endeavor; everyone can help, and anyone can hurt. We want every student to have a positive experience at Penn State College of Medicine. Mistreatment arises when behavior shows disrespect for the dignity of others and interferes with the learning process.
This office serves all learners at the College of Medicine: medical students, graduate students, PA students, residents and fellows.
Report Mistreatment
You can report mistreatment anonymously or choose to identify yourself. All reports will be handled with complete confidentiality.
Contact Us
With questions, contact Debra Byler, MD, director,
on TigerText or via email at dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
Frequently Asked Questions
There are many options available to you if you experience or witness mistreatment.
If You Can Resolve the Issue On Your Own
Move toward resolution through a discussion and seeking support.
If You're Not Sure What To Do
If you are unsure about whether a behavior rises to the level of mistreatment, you are encouraged to contact Dr. Debra Byler, Director of the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment, at 717-531-8790 or dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu for a confidential discussion. If you're unsure, you may also contact your academic advisor or .
If You Need More Help
If you cannot resolve the mistreatment issue on your own, you have four reporting options:
Contact the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment:
Reach Director Dr. Debra Byler at 717-531-6148 or dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
Contact program leadership:
MD and PA students: Contact the course or clerkship director
Graduate students: Contact Daniela Zarnescu, PhD, Associate Dean for Graduate Education and Postdoctoral Training
Residents: Contact your residency program director
Complete an evaluation:
MD and PA students: Complete a course or clerkship evaluation form at the end of class and answer mistreatment questions.
Report online:
Report mistreatment using the Mistreatment Reporting Form or through the means listed here.
Course Evaluations: On the end-of-course evaluations, there are questions about whether you have experienced mistreatment or if you have witnessed others being mistreated.
Clerkship Evaluations: On the end-of-clerkship evaluations, there are questions about whether you have experienced mistreatment or if you have witnessed others being mistreated.
Contact Debra Byler: Dr. Byler can be contacted at dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu or at 717-531-8790. She will set up a time to discuss your concern and then decide how best to proceed. Any discussions Dr. Byler has with students are confidential within the limits of the law.
All reports that are submitted through the mistreatment form go directly to Dr. Debra Byler. Based on the content of the report, Dr. Byler either takes action directly or sends it to someone with expertise in the problematic area.
You can report mistreatment anonymously or choose to identify yourself. All reports will be handled with complete confidentiality. Mistreatment reports that are submitted anonymously and identify educators will be recorded, tracked, evaluated and acted upon when conduct is egregious or a trend is identified.
Students who experience any type of sexual harassment are encouraged to contact Penn State's Title IX coordinator. Students with any concerns about the possible repercussions of reporting mistreatment should contact Dr. Debra Byler at 717-531-8790 or dbyler@pennstatehealth.psu.edu.
The Office for a Respectful Learning Environment understands the importance of anonymous reporting for students. However, in certain cases where the reported behavior is extremely unacceptable, the office may feel obligated to identify the educator in question. In such cases, the following process would occur:
The decision to identify the educator will be made by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment Advisory Committee, not by any one individual.
If a decision is made to identify the educator, the student who filed the report will be notified. The student’s identity will not be revealed to the educator in question.
The educator in question will be contacted and informed of the College of Medicine's zero-tolerance policy toward retaliation.
For Title IX-related incidents, absolute confidentiality cannot be guaranteed due to considerations for the safety of the University community.
When A Mistreatment Event Occurs
Mistreatment reports are reviewed by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment.
If Sexual Harassment Has Occurred
The report is reviewed to determine if harassment or discrimination as define in Penn State Policy AD-85 or Penn State Policy AD-91 has occurred, the report is sent to Title IX staff, who follow for reporting and resolution.
If Sexual Harassment Has Not Occurred
If sexual harassment has not occurred, the incident will be investigated by the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment. The office will take into account all information, including if there is any prior history of mistreatment reports.
If the incident is deemed not to warrant intervention, the case is closed.
If the incident warrants intervention, the office will follow the Stanford Mistreatment Response Pyramid.
If the report involves a clinical rotation at Mount Nittany, the director of the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment will collaborate with the Chief Medical Officer for Mount Nittany for investigation and resolution.
For Bias-Related Reports
The Office for a Respectful Learning Environment will seek guidance and collaboration from the Vice Dean of Diversity, Equity and Belonging and the Title IX coordinator upon receipt of reports that include bias-related issues or events. Third parties may be contacted for assistance in investigations. In addition, when bias-related reports that include racism or discrimination are received, the following actions will occur:
The director of the Office for a Respectful Learning Environment automatically refers all cases that involve racism and other forms of discrimination perpetrated by a student to the Campus Conduct Committee for review and appropriate disciplinary action.
In cases involving racism and other forms of discrimination perpetrated by a student, the director of the Office for a Respectful Learning refers the case to the Associate Dean for Student Affairs for review and decision on appropriate action that may include completion of a professionalism form.
For cases involving racism and other forms of discrimination perpetrated by faculty or staff members, in addition to following the Stanford Mistreatment Response Pyramid, the appropriate individual in Human Resources will be notified to ensure that institutional policies are followed and enforced.
About the Stanford Mistreatment Response Pyramid
The Stanford Mistreatment Response Pyramid classifies mistreatment issues into four levels of action, based on the number of reports received about mistreatment by the same person:
Level 1: Based on a single mistreatment incident; handled with discussion and feedback intervention.
Level 2: Second mistreatment incident; handled with an Individual Action Plan intervention with follow-up. Egregious issues may be escalated to a higher level.
Level 3: For more than three mistreatment incidents; handled with a supervisor involvement intervention.
Level 4: For severe incidents; handled with disciplinary intervention.
When egregious issues take place, even as a first violation, they may be escalated to a higher level. When mandated-reporting issues occur, mandated reporting supersedes all other levels. When no mistreatment is identified, student coaching takes place.
Mistreatment Report Examples
“The residents are jerks.”
“A student in my PBL group was rude to me.”
“A nurse treated me disrespectfully.”
“Members of my group are not very friendly.”
“My PI is impossible to work with.”
The reports listed above are composites of ones that have been submitted to our office. We recognize that students may be reluctant to share specific details because they feel it will make them easier to be identified. This is a legitimate concern and we respect the choices each student makes in what to submit. That said, the reports listed above resulted in no action because of the lack of key information such as the name of the person who acted inappropriately, the specific behaviors that were experienced as mistreatment, the day when the event occurred, the location of the event, and relevant contextual information (i.e. during rounds, in a patient’s room, in front of other staff).
“Dr A. yelled at a resident during a procedure on Tuesday. The resident tried to apologize, but Dr. A. just kept yelling at him. It was very uncomfortable for everyone in the room.”
“On 11/2/20 nurse W mocked me when I was scrubbing in for a surgery. He told me I would never be a surgeon because I didn’t even know how to wash my hands. It would have been more helpful if he used the time to teach me better technique.”
“This past Friday my PI, Dr X, humiliated me in a lab meeting by telling me my science was at the level of a high school student- and then he laughed at me. He never explained what I needed to do to improve- just that my work was terrible.”
By including the name of the person who acted inappropriately, along with information on what happened, and when and where the incident occurred, we are able to conduct an investigation and offer education to those involved to prevent future incidents. We want to learn about these situations as detailed and quickly as possible to take the necessary steps to address them in a timely manner.
