Clinical Care



Respectful Workplace in the Clinical Setting

The School of Medicine is committed to providing a work environment that is conducive to teaching and learning, research, the practice of medicine and patient care. Stanford’s special purposes in this regard depend on a shared commitment among all members of the community to respect each person’s worth and dignity.

Because of their roles within the School of Medicine, faculty members, in particular, are expected to treat all members of the Stanford Community with civility, respect and courtesy and with an awareness of the potential impact of their behavior on staff, students and other faculty members.

For reappointment and promotion actions, application of criteria for evaluating the quality of clinical care includes specific expectations regarding a faculty member’s professional behavior in the workplace.  Such factors relevant to evaluation of whether the standards for clinical performance have been met include:

• Professionalism
• Institutional compliance and ethics
• Humanism
• Ability to work effectively as part of the health care team
• Effective communication with colleagues, staff, students and patients

Results from the distribution of clinical excellence and teaching evaluation forms, as well as from referee and trainee letters, will aid reviewing bodies in assessing a faculty member’s performance in the workplace.

Faculty Practice Policy and Exemptions

The practice policy for physicians, psychologists and dentists in the School of Medicine can be found here (PDF). Updated in May 2018, this policy governs the providing of clinical care by these professionals at Stanford and elsewhere, and the receipt of income for such care.

Full time clinicians (at 100% FTE) at Stanford may not provide clinical care outside Stanford and its approved practice sites.

For those that are not full time (less than 100% FTE) an exemption from practice policy is required, which must be approved by the division chief, department chair, and Vice Dean.

For Clinician Educators who are appointed at 50% FTE or greater who wish to practice (and receive practice income) outside Stanford and its approved sites, an exemption from practice policy must be requested with this form, and must be approved by the division chief, department chair, and Vice Dean.

For Clinician Educators who are appointed at below 50% FTE, a list of other employers must be provided to the Vice Dean as part of the appointment package (usually included in the CV) and must be updated when there are changes to the list, or when they are reappointed or promoted.

The Stanford University Medical Indemnity and Trust Insurance Company (SUMIT) provides malpractice coverage to clinicians at the School of Medicine. If a CE wishes to request a practice policy exemption, they must provide proof of malpractice coverage that is acceptable to SUMIT, or request that SUMIT provide coverage for their outside activity (for example, pro bono clinical care overseas). The Office of Academic Affairs will contact SUMIT and obtain a form that the clinician must fill out in either case.

Evaluation of Clinical Excellence

The Clinical Excellence Evaluation forms are used to evaluate clinical care activities in the context of reappointment or promotion. These are "360 degree evaluations" which will be requested from peers, trainees, and clinical staff. The evaluation concentrates on the following areas:

  • General clinical proficiency
  • Communication
  • Professionalism
  • Systems-based practice

Other Resources

Stanford Hospital and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital

Medical Staff Services Office
Phone: (650) 497-8566
Fax: (650) 497-8228.

Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System

Medical Staff Office
Fax: (650) 496-2501
or contact: Angela Boese, Medical Staff Coordinator: (650) 493-5000 extension 64255.

SmartPage

The SmartPage website has a directory of Stanford individuals and their pager numbers, phone numbers, and other information, and allows you to page someone from the web and maintaing your paging profile and history.