Common Ground Professionalism Initiative
Introduction
The Common Ground Framework for Professional Conduct was developed concurrently with the Creating COMmunity process and is intended as a set of guiding, foundational principles that underlie professional conduct within the College of Osteopathic Medicine community regardless of status in the college as faculty, staff, student or administrator. There are significant correlations between the Creating COMmunity findings and the Common Ground Framework, and the framework is one of the primary guiding tools for responding to the needs brought forward during the Creating COMmunity process.
CGPI Submission Portal
The CGPI submission portal should be used when a community member(s) wishes to celebrate exemplary professionalism of another community member(s) and/or when there is an observation of behavior that may seem misaligned with the Common Ground Framework. All submissions are routed to the Director of Human Resources (HR) (responsible for faculty and staff) and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs (responsible for students) (or their proxies, if absent) and triaged appropriately based on involved parties. The Director of HR will address matters related to faculty and staff, while the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will address matters related to students. Submitters are encouraged to address matters on their own when plausible, in addition to submission, such as conducting a coaching conversation or offering constructive feedback (see training opportunities below).
Description
As MSUCOM strives to be a community of excellence within the larger university, the establishment of clear and transparent expectations for professional conduct is important. In 2020, members of the Common Ground Professionalism Initiative (CGPI) outlined the ideals and behaviors that students, staff, faculty, and administration should embody as members of the MSUCOM community: Common Ground Framework and Appendix. The Common Ground Framework for Professional Conduct is a set of guiding, foundational principles that underpin professional conduct and integrity and applies to all members of the MSUCOM community at work within the shared college community, independent of their specific roles or responsibilities. This framework is intended to encourage collaborative energy, shared leadership, and the integration of osteopathic principles into our work.
Spartan Community Clearinghouse (SCC)
The Spartan Community Clearinghouse (SCC) is comprised of faculty, staff, and student members of the MSUCOM Community. These members were either appointed (legacy) or have interviewed and been chosen to serve as members of this clearinghouse. They hold a pivotal role in the Common Ground Professionalism Initiative (CGPI).
The SCC functions to better understand patterns of behavior that are seen within the college, including both accolades and concerns. Acknowledging and discussing the ‘why’ of these trends, along with what can be done to change concerning behaviors or capitalize on positive behaviors serves as a critical tool for the college to guide its efforts toward creating a safer, respectable, and more inclusive community. By considering the perspective of faculty, staff, and students in all trends, this allows a broader lens to understand behaviors and to be better equipped to address them.
SCC Workflow
The Director of HR and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will track trends based on the observations they are seeing submitted to the CGPI. These trends will then be brought to the SCC quarterly for broad discussion. Recommendations will be made by the SCC after meetings and discussion have taken place. These recommendations will be considered by administration in moving forward to address broader issues within the college. In addition, the SCC may serve as a consulting board to discuss individual de-identified observations as appropriate. In situations where the Director of HR and the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs would like additional input from a broader lens and deem it appropriate to share de-identified information regarding a situation, they may bring this before the SCC for discussion and input. In these scenarios, SCC moderator(s), who are also blinded from the identifying information, will oversee and facilitate this type of meeting.
You can submit an observation to the CGPI here.
Past Spartan Spotlight Recipients
The Spartan Spotlight Award is awarded annually to up to three members of the MSUCOM community, including faculty, staff, and students. This award recognizes exemplary dedication to the CORE (collaboration, opportunity, responsibility, expertise) principles of the Common Ground Framework for Professional Conduct.
- Neema Kamau
- Zachary Waarala
- Stephen Elmer
- Basma Klump
Upcoming Training and Events for Students
Please check back here for opportunities coming soon.