‘It is the social and moral responsibility of the K.C.O.M. board or trustees, administration, and general faculty to ensure that entering students obtain the highest quality training to become physicians. Additionally, the clinical faculty has a professional responsibility to oversee the education of our future colleagues. The clinical faculty believes that quality training required of a physician does not show a relationship to the current administrative direction of the school. The clinical faculty has spent months trying to affect a change within the context of the school’s “proper channels”. With our concerns belittled or directly changed when presented to the board via the administration, we were compelled to take this action to receive the board’s direct attention to the crisis situation on campus.’
-We must communicate directly to the board. Our concerns have not been accurately communicated to the board through administrative channels.
e.g.: The dean directly requested the clinical faculty representative
(Dr. Bragg) to alter clinical faculty reports to the board.
e.g.: If this environment exists, and communication with the board
through the administrative process is distorted, a vote of no-confidence of the process must ensue.
There is no “due process” for establishing a vote of no-confidence.
-Our mission to train quality physicians is in jeopardy in the current environment at K.C.O.M. The clinical faculty and students agree that the present educational environment does not support quality training.
e.g.: OTM student survey
e.g.: Recently, the number of student transfer requests have soared(As of 5/30/00, Kansas City had 34 inquiries from K.C.O.M., which potentially amounts to a >$1.5 million loss in student revenue to K.C.O.M. over the next 2 years)
e.g.: The curriculum committee process is not truly “faculty driven”
e.g.: Non-scientific teaching at K.C.O.M. (refer to the previous board
presentation made by the clinical faculty)
-There is a real perception the board holds little esteem for the clinical faculty and does not appreciate the contribution and devotion of the clinical faculty to the college.
e.g.: The board’s recent response to clinical faculty concerns
presented in April 2000.
e.g.: The board’s response to the April 2000 presentation was never completely explained to the clinical faculty.
e.g.: There is a history of poor mutual communication between the board and clinical faculty concerning important issues.
[Please refer to the proposal section]
-Real problems that endanger quality student education as presented to the board are trivialized by the administration or not taken seriously by the board when presented directly by clinical faculty representatives.
e.g.: Dr. Bragg’s April 2000 presentation to the board discussing
critical clinical faculty issues were unable to be considered because it was not presented to the board by proper means.
The report was given at the end of the board meeting, not
allowing adequate consideration and response time by the board.
e.g.: Dr. Kuchera misrepresented the faculty’s wishes to the A.O.A. and the board giving the false impression the faculty approved an increase in class size.
-The clinical faculty is determined to enhance education at K.C.O.M. and has the best interests of the students at heart. Our primary concern and focus is quality student education.
-Only a physician understands fully what a student needs to know to thrive in a residency training program and how to learn to practice clinical medicine successfully. K.C.O.M. is moving in a direction that would place the clinical faculty in an ineffective role in the education of our students and the administration of the school.
-In recent years, the administration has accepted little input from the clinical faculty into the quality and direction of the program at K.C.O.M. Lack of earnest communication and cooperation on the part of the administration left the clinical faculty with no alternatives but to render no-confidence in our administration.
-The clinical faculty stands to make no fiduciary gain from taking this position, or gain any other extra benefits. In fact, we are staking our professional academic careers to stand for the future of K.C.O.M.
-Today’s students will be our future colleagues and possibly, your future physician. K.C.O.M. must change course to re-establish K.C.O.M.’s foundation and a strong bio-science curriculum. To achieve this objective, qualified D.O.’s must be included in the decision making at all levels of administration at K.C.O.M.
