Ombuds Office
The Ombuds Office is an independent service available to members of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine (MSSM) community. We offer a safe and informal setting for individuals to discuss academic, professional, or personal issues. Medical, graduate, and postdoctoral students; faculty; and house staff are free to talk openly and confidentially about any topic. At your request, the Ombudsperson may assist you with:
- academic or career concerns
- harassment, discrimination, or other unfair treatment
- an interpersonal dispute in need of a neutral third party
- uncertainty about or unfair application of a policy
- knowledge of misconduct
- personal issues
We work independently of Mount Sinai departments and are responsible only to the Dean of MSSM. While our office reports annually to the Dean, these reports are solely statistical and do not identify specific cases.
The Ombuds Office offers these assurances:
Confidentiality: We do not keep minutes or records of meetings or discussions. Confidentiality is assured, except in rare situations involving the commission of a crime or the risk of imminent physical harm, in which cases our office is bound by law to contact the proper authorities.
Impartiality: We are committed to remaining fair and impartial. We do not take sides in disputes. Our office is not involved in the outcomes of mediation processes. The Ombudsperson will not adjudicate, testify, or participate on the behalf of either party in any formal process.
Informality: The Ombudsperson operates outside established, formal processes of review, grievance, and appeal and does not maintain records or files on persons who seek assistance.
What is an Ombudsperson?
The Ombudsperson investigates problems, complaints, or disputes brought to the attention of our office. The Ombudsperson has broad powers of inquiry to undertake conflict resolution, remediation, formal third-party intervention, or diplomacy as needed and can act independently and impartially to:
- mediate disputes with focus on productive resolution
- facilitate meetings, as needed, to maintain topic focus and draw participants into constructive dialogue
- offer information for referral or additional resources
The Ombudsperson has no formal decision-making authority, but can help you explore your options--from simply talking about the problem to pursuing a formal grievance proceeding.
Visiting the Ombuds Office
Although drop-ins are welcome, we encourage you to contact the Ombuds Office to schedule an appointment. Any issue is open for discussion. Again, all such discussions are strictly confidential. We do not keep records of meetings, complaints, or individual problems.
The Ombuds Office supplements but does not replace current resources for conflict resolution and existing standing committees. The Ombudsperson will not participate in existing academic procedures or formal grievance processes. Our aim is to resolve issues before formal action is pursued.