Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s ombuds committee is a neutral, confidential, and informal resource to help M.D. students, Ph.D. students, and postdoctoral fellows address and resolve education, training, and workplace conflicts and grievances. The ombuds process is intended to supplemental formal channels for reporting bias, mistreatment, and other grievances at Einstein. We are committed to providing an impartial, open-minded, supportive, independent, and fair space to voice concerns that arise about your learning environment, as well as interactions with faculty, clinical, or laboratory staff. We provide anonymous reporting and support mechanisms, advice on your options, and guidance through the grievance reporting process. We also facilitate interactions with Einstein’s administration. Einstein’s ombuds committee embodies the following guiding principles:

  • Safe and confidential. Complaints are anonymous and without risk of retaliation, except if there is a concern for imminent danger to others in our community or in instances that involve sex-based discrimination or harassment. We do not require complainants to provide names or identifying information 

  • Impartial and open-mined. We do not make judgments or assign blame. 

  • Supportive. We are empathetic listeners and serve to promote overall student wellbeing. 

  • Independent. We operate independent of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine administration and Montefiore Health System administration, except for providing annual neutral reports on bias and mistreatment to the deans. 

  • Fair. We offer the same support for all grievances and help everyone who engages with the ombuds committee to explore potential conflict remediation options. 

Student Grievance Form

Anonymously and confidentially report grievances about bias, mistreatment, discrimination, and harassment to Einstein’s ombuds committee.

Submit a Complaint

Frequently Asked Questions

A member of the ombuds committee will contact you to arrange a meeting to discuss the incident you reported. You are welcome to bring a companion to this meeting for support.

The ombuds committee speaks with students, course or clerkship directors, laboratory members, and other sources, as appropriate. Generally, the ombuds committee does not directly approach the person accused of misconduct. After an investigation is completed, the ombuds committee meets with the supervisor of the accused, who then presents the subject with a remediation plan or disciplinary action.  

If the case involves a grievance about a chairperson or someone in a leadership role, the ombuds committee presents remediation or disciplinary recommendations to the vice dean for education. If a student is accused of misconduct, the ombuds committee works with representatives from the office of student affairs or the office of graduate education, who then address the grievance with the person accused.  

The timing of the investigation is entirely up to the complainant. To ensure that the process is comfortable and without fear of repercussion, the investigation procedure can be modified in accordance with your preferences. After the ombuds committee completes an investigation, the person accused of misconduct is presented with a remediation plan or disciplinary action within two weeks.

We do not require complainants to provide identifying information as part of the ombuds process. The ombuds committee submits an annual report about grievances reported at Einstein to the office of the vice dean for education; however, all data are de-identified and aggregated.