Resident Appeal

To outline the principles and process for Resident appeals at the Postgraduate Medical Education, College of Medicine level.

Resident appeal proceedings are based on principles of natural justice and procedural fairness.

Resident appeal processes will be conducted impartially, responsibly and in a timely manner.

Subject to applicable privacy laws and legal obligations, all material and communication pertaining to a Resident appeal process will be confidential and shared only with the parties involved in the process.

Standing Committee for Appeals (SCA) refers to the committee made up of faculty members from the College of Medicine, including the Program Directors and Residents representing Resident Doctors of Saskatchewan.  

Appeal Adjudication Board (AAB) will be composed of four members of the Standing Committee for Appeals- one of the two Co-Chairs, one faculty member, one (former or current) Program Director and one Resident representative.

Pursuant to the University of Saskatchewan (UofS) policy, Student Appeals of Evaluation, Grading and Academic Standing, and the Procedures for Student Appeals in Academic Matters, this policy applies to the standing, and evaluation of all Residents in all residency training programs, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan.

There is a separate policy and process for decisions appealable at a program level.

All Residents have a right to fair and equitable procedures for the lodging and hearing of complaints arising from University, PGME or program regulations, policies or actions that directly affect their academic standing.

A variety of decisions affecting the Resident’s status and progress may be made during the course of residency training. Subject to the permitted grounds identified in the UofS Procedures for Student Appeals in Academic Matter pursuant to the Policy on Student Appeals of Evaluation, Grading and Academic Standing, a Resident may appeal the following:

1)      Rotational/learning experience assessments

(These decisions must be appealed at the program level first, following program-level appeal process);

2)      Remediation;

3)      Probation;

4)      Decision of an investigation committee;

5)      Deferral of promotion;

6)      Decisions on readiness for the national examinations and certification;

7)      Dismissal.

The Residents have the right to appeal these decisions when their performance has been judged unsatisfactory, or other decisions outlined above. The residency training programs determine what criteria will be used to determine unsatisfactory performance, following the standards of training set by the College of Family Physicians Canada and the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. The Residents cannot appeal academic standards.

Appeals at the College level can be based on the grounds pertaining to:

1)      An alleged failure to follow procedural regulations of the College or the University dealing with assessment of Residents’ academic work or performance, or administrative decisions or alleged misapplication of regulations governing program or degree requirements;

2)      alleged differential treatment of the Resident as compared to the treatment of other Residents in program, where the alleged differential treatment affected assessment of the Resident’s academic work or performance;

3)      alleged discrimination or harassment, as set out in the University’s Policy on Discrimination and Harassment Prevention and procedures for addressing issues of discrimination and harassment, where the alleged violation affected assessment of the Resident’s academic work or performance; or

4)      alleged failure to implement the approved policies and procedures of the University and the College dealing with accommodation of students with disabilities, when the alleged failure affected assessment of the Resident’s academic work or performance.

Appeals at the College level will be heard by the Appeal Adjudication Board (AAB) constituted from the members of the Standing Committee for Appeals.

The mandate of the AAB is to address the grounds of appeal and process issues, and not academic judgment or validity of educational assessments. If a process irregularity is identified, the magnitude of such an irregularity will be assessed. The irregularity must be of sufficient magnitude to have, or likely have, meaningfully influenced the decision being appealed or the performance of the Resident that led to the decision.

An AAB will have the following options in reaching a determination about the appeal:

1)      There is insufficient evidence of a process irregularity and the original decision is upheld.

2)      There is, or may have been, one or more process irregularities but the irregularity is not of sufficient magnitude to materially affect the outcome and the original decision is upheld.

3)      A significant process irregularity occurred, or is likely to have occurred, and the Residency Program Committee (or relevant subcommittee) or investigation committee will be directed to review its decision in light of the process irregularity and make a revised recommendation.

4)      A significant process irregularity occurred, or is likely to have occurred, and the magnitude of the irregularity is such that the original decision should be overturned.

If the Resident is dissatisfied with the decision reached by the College of Medicine, an appeal can be made to the University of Saskatchewan through the Office of the University Secretary.

Instances or concerns of non-compliance with this policy should be brought to the attention of the Associate Dean, PGME.

Procedure for Conducting Resident Appeal

Coordinator for Academic and Non-academic Processes, PGME Office

Phone: 306-966-6145