ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ

Principle

Decisions made by the Admissions Committee, Interview Committee, and Interview Members regarding applicants to the Doctor of Medicine (MD) program in the Faculty of Medicine (FoM) at ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ University (ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ) must be free from intimidation and personal interest. The Admissions Office is guided by ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ University’s Conflict of Interest Policy. Members of the Admissions Committee, members of the Interview Committee, and Interview Members must report any actual, potential or perceived Conflicts of Interest immediately to the Assistant Dean, Admissions, or the Admissions Officer.

Purpose

To identify any actual, potential or perceived Conflicts of Interest regarding members of the Admissions Committee, members of the Interview Committee, and Interview Members and to outline processes and mechanisms for managing such conflicts.

Scope

These guidelines apply to members of the Admissions Committee, members of the Interview Committee and Interview Members in the FoM at ÌÇÐÄÊÓƵ.

Definitions

Admissions Committee — The Admissions Committee is responsible for reviewing and deciding upon offers of acceptance after competitive applicants have been interviewed.

Applicant — An individual who applies to the Doctor of Medicine Degree.

Committee Member — An individual who belongs to either the Interview or Admissions Committee.

Conflict of Interest — A situation in which a Member’s Personal Interest actually or potentially compromises or has the appearance of actually or potentially compromising that Member’s independence and objective judgment in actions or decisions taken by that Member on behalf of or towards the University, including teaching, research, service, administration and any other professional obligation to the University.

Family Associate — A person who is related to the Member by blood or adoption, or is, or has been, related to the Member by marriage or common-law marriage.

Interview Committee — The Interview Committee is responsible for reviewing and deciding which applicants to invite for an interview.

Interview Member — Any individual who is directly involved in the actual process of evaluating applicant responses during the interview.

Member — Any person who teaches, conducts research, studies or works at or under the auspices of the University and includes, without limitation:

• tenure-track, tenure or contractual faculty;
• permanent, temporary or contract staff;
• all students;
• clinical faculty (includes stipendiary and non-stipendiary appointments);
• adjunct faculty in their capacity as researchers, instructors or co-supervisors of students;
• per-course instructors, postdoctoral fellows, research assistants and associates; and
• any other persons while they are acting on behalf of or at the request of the University.

Personal Associate — A person with whom a Member has or has had, within the previous six years, a marital, familial, sexual, intimate, financial or other close relationship.

Personal Interest — The personal, private, financial, business, commercial or career interest of a Member. The personal, private, financial, business, commercial or career interest of a Member’s Personal Associate or Professional Associate is deemed to be the interest of that Member.

Professional Associate — A person with whom the Member has or has had within the previous six years, a close or substantial professional relationship and includes, but is not limited to, a relationship of mentor, co-author, research collaborator or research investigator or employment supervisor of the Member. A student for whom a Member has acted as Academic Supervisor is a Professional Associate of that Member.

Significant Social Relationship — A social relationship whereby the Member has overlapping personal connections with the applicant and would know them well enough to engage in friendly conversation.

Policy

Guidelines

1. 0 For the purposes of these guidelines, the Admissions Office within the FoM considers that a Conflict of Interest may exist, without limitation, in circumstances where a member of the Admissions Committee, Interview Committee, or an Interview Member is:

1.1 A Family Associate to an Applicant; 

1.2 A Personal or Professional Associate of the Applicant; 

1.3 In a Significant Social Relationship with a colleague who is related to the Applicant; or 

1.4 In conflict with the Applicant and the Conflict of Interest has been previously identified. 

2.0 Conditions to Manage Conflicts of Interest

A Conflict of Interest does not, in itself, imply wrongdoing; it is determined by the circumstances rather than the character of the Member. The existence of an actual, potential or perceived Conflict of Interest does not automatically preclude a Member’s involvement, but it does require disclosure. Once disclosed, the conflict must be appropriately assessed, managed or disallowed, and the decision documented.

2.1 For Committee Members who fit category 1.1 the following apply:  

2.1.1 Admissions Committee member must withdraw from the Admissions Committee for that admissions cycle.

2.1.2 Interview Committee member must withdraw from the Interview Committee for that admissions cycle.  

3.0 For Members who fit category 1.2, 1.3, or 1.4, the following apply: 

3.1 Admissions Committee and Interview Committee members must declare a Conflict of Interest with the Applicant, thereby making their evaluation void. In Committee meetings they must leave the meeting during discussion of the file. 

3.2 Interview Members must indicate the potential Conflict of Interest on the interview evaluation and explain their relationship to the Applicant. The Assistant Dean, Admissions, and Admissions Officer will review the conflict disclosed. 

3.3 If it is decided that the relationship is not significant enough to result in a biased evaluation, the score from the Member is retained. 

3.4 If it is decided that the relationship is significant enough to reasonably interfere with an unbiased evaluation, the evaluation is excluded and the overall score is prorated.

Related Documents

Conflict of Interest Policy

Procedures:

There are no procedures associated with this policy.