Avalon University School of Medicine (AUSOM) is a private medical school in Curaçao, an island in the Caribbean. Founded in 2003, AUSOM is fully accredited and has a curriculum designed to prepare students for practice as medical doctors in the United States and Canada. Upon graduation, students receive a Doctor of Medicine (MD) degree and meet all academic eligibility requirements to take Steps 1 and 2 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). AUSOM also has a BS/MD joint-degree program where students can earn their bachelor's and medical degrees in just six years.
As with any other accredited medical school, the professors and instructors at AUSOM will intellectually challenge you. You might find yourself under a lot of stress to succeed. Despite this pressure, you are expected to adhere to the highest levels of professionalism, ethics, and academics. Instances of academic dishonesty, unethical behavior, unprofessional conduct, or poor academic performance can result in AUSOM taking disciplinary action against you. This could include a suspension or even a dismissal from the program. If you find yourself accused of any type of serious misconduct while attending AUSOM, you need to act quickly. If you don't, you could be removed from the program and unable to live your dream of becoming a doctor. You can get help by contacting the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team online or by calling 888-535-3686.
Common Reasons for Dismissal
The reasons for dismissal from AUSOM are similar to most other medical schools. According to AUSOM'sDisciplinary Procedures, conduct that could lead to disciplinary action could include disorderly conduct, possession of illegal drugs or weapons, failure to follow AUSOM's campus rules or local laws, academic infractions, or a violation of the Student Honor Code. Students could also get removed from the program if they don't maintain satisfactory academic progress.
AUSOM's Disciplinary Procedures specifically mention that cheating, stealing, and plagiarism may result in dismissal. These expectations are in place so AUSOM can provide a fair academic environment and produce graduates who can effectively and ethically serve their future patients and community.
The Adjudication Process at AUSOM
The Avalon University School of Medicine uses an informal and formal process for dealing with student discipline issues. The informal procedures are available to all students, faculty, and staff at AUSOM. However, this informal process isn't usually used when AUSOM takes disciplinary action against students. Student involvement in the informal process will typically come up if they're a witness in an investigation or are the ones filing a complaint.
The formal adjudication process begins when the complainant files a Formal Complaint with the appropriate authority. Depending on the allegations, this could include the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Associate Dean of Basic Sciences, or the Investigating Officer designated to receive and process the complaint.
If a student files the complaint, they must do so within 10 days of the alleged incident. If the complainant is a faculty or staff member of AUSOM, they have 30 days to file the complaint.
Upon receipt of the complaint, the Disciplinary Committee will assign an Investigating Officer to look into the allegations and then submit their findings to the Disciplinary Committee for further action.
When the Disciplinary Committee makes a decision, it will consider various factors, including the seriousness of the offense, the existence of any mitigating or aggravating factors, and if the offense was:
- Done on purpose or accident.
- An isolated incident or one that occurred multiple times.
- Committed by a student who suffered from mental health problems.
- The result of an imbalance of power between the people involved in the incident.
There are five possible decisions from the Disciplinary Committee:
- Exoneration
- Informal reprimand
- Formal reprimand (a record of what happened is placed in the student's file)
- Probation (the student will continue their studies with fewer rights and privileges, such as being monitored by school officials)
- Suspension (removal from AUSOM, but with the possibility of returning)
- Dismissal/expulsion (removal from AUSOM with no chance of returning)
There's a wide range of outcomes from the formal process of adjudication, and most of them could potentially prevent you from becoming a doctor. This is why hiring the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team to help you through the adjudication process is so important.
Handling Appeals
If you've already gone through the AUSOM adjudication process, you might be facing a serious punishment, such as a suspension or dismissal. You might feel ready to give up, but you still have additional steps available to challenge the Disciplinary Committee's findings.
The first step is filing an appeal in writing to the Associate Dean of Basic Sciences/Dean of Clinical Sciences. You have five days to do this after you receive the Disciplinary Board's decision. The appropriate dean will review the Disciplinary Board's decision and then make any changes they feel are necessary.
Assuming this first appeal gets denied, you can then file an appeal to the Executive Dean. You have five days from the first appeal decision to submit this appeal in writing. One thing to understand about this appeal is that the Executive Dean won't review the underlying facts or reasoning behind the Disciplinary Committee or the Associate Dean of Basic Sciences/Dean of Clinical Sciences. Instead, the Executive Dean will only review your case to confirm your rights were honored and protected during the disciplinary process. In other words, they won't second guess the earlier decisions unless there was a procedural mistake and your rights were violated because of that mistake.
Contacting the Lento Law Firm
The possibility of getting suspended or expelled from AUSOM is a scary thought. The chance of having all that hard work thrown away is why you need to talk to someone from the Lento Law Firm Education Law Team. We have years of experience handling disciplinary actions against medical students and know how to counter harmful allegations that can ruin a career before it begins.
Even if you're not allowed to have a lawyer represent you during the formal adjudication or appeals process, we can still help. We can answer any questions you might have and provide legal guidance on how to respond to questioning and what approach to take during a disciplinary hearing. You're at a pivotal point in your budding medical career. Don't let these accusations of academic, ethical, or professional misconduct prevent you from graduating from AUSOM and becoming a medical doctor. Call us at 888-535-3686 or reach out to us online.
