Hello,
My name is Dr. Jacob Schulman, MD. I am a third-year pediatric resident at the University of Chicago and a student at the University of Illinois Chicago, where I am obtaining my Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE). My scholarly interest is in studying the use of restorative justice (more broadly known as restorative practices) in health professions education. Over the past ten years, an unquantified number of US medical schools have adopted restorative justice (RJ) practices and integrated them into their curricula as a way to build community and an alternative method to address mistreatment at their medical schools. An initial problem to be addressed is the absence of peer-reviewed or even gray literature to date published that has characterized or described the current landscape of RJ practices across the entirety of US medical schools. To help address this gap, I have created a brief survey to help collect data regarding the uses of RJ practices across all US medical schools (DO & MD).
As a representative of your medical school, you are invited to participate in my IRB-exempt research study: A Quantitative Program Evaluation of Restorative Justice Practices at United States Medical Schools. This study has been reviewed by the University of Illinois - Chicago (UIC) Institutional Review Board (IRB) and the University of Chicago IRB. I am the PI of this project and work with faculty from the UIC Department of Medical Education, UChicago Pritzker School of Medicine, and Rush Medical College.
There is currently a widely accepted three-tiered conceptual framework regarding using restorative practices in undergraduate medicine. This survey will collect data regarding the utilization of each of the three tiers.
- Tier 1 practices emphasize building community primarily through the use of RJ circles or similar activities that utilize restorative principles. These activities typically are not used for responding to an instance of harm.
- Tier 2 practices are utilized as a practice to respond when actual harm has occurred through the use of restorative conferences.
- Tier 3 practices utilize re-entry circles, also known as circles of support and accountability, to reintroduce students who have spent time away for disciplinary, health, or academic leaves.
Below are the logistics and parameters of this study:
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The survey takes two to ten minutes to complete, depending on the extent of RJ practices at your school. Regardless of the type of RJ practices at your institution, I am still interested in having you complete the survey.
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Participation in this survey is voluntary and will not influence employment or career advancement. Your name and email address will only be accessible to the PI for the sole purpose of survey respondent recruitment.
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No personal or human subject data will be collected on the survey or for data analysis. Only quantitative data regarding the use of RJ at your institution will be collected and analyzed.
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There will be no compensation for completing the survey.
Please contact me, Jacob Schulman, if you would like to be your school's respondent or with any questions about the research project. I am more than happy to answer any questions regarding this study or future opportunities for collaboration.
Sincerely,
Jacob Schulman, MD
Email: jacob.schulman@uchicagomedicine.org or jschul37@uic.edu
Phone: 954-868-1328
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Jacob Schulman
Pediatric Resident; MHPE Student
UChicago Medicine
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