Applies to: Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine Graduate Medical Education (GME) and all accredited post-graduate medical training program Trainees and WSU faculty and staff.
GMEC Approval: 04/20/2021
1.0 Policy Statement
It is the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine policy that all employed Trainees and WSU faculty and staff participating in a college of medicine sponsored training program maintain professional liability coverage at approved amounts.
2.0 Definitions
Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)
Accredits Sponsoring Institutions and residency and fellowship programs, confers recognition on additional program formats or components, and dedicates resources to initiatives addressing areas of importance in graduate medical education.
Designated Institutional Official (DIO)
The individual in a sponsoring institution who has the authority and responsibility for oversight and responsibility of all of the ACGME-accredited programs.
Graduate Medical Education Committee (GMEC)
An institutional committee of the College of Medicine charged with the responsibility of monitoring and advising on all aspects of institutional, residency, and fellowship education as required by the ACGME.
Moonlighting
“Extra work for extra pay” voluntary, compensated, medically-related work performed beyond a Trainee’s clinical experience and education hours and additional to the work required for successful completion of the program.
Sponsoring Institution
The organization (or entity) that assumes the ultimate financial and academic responsibility for a program of GME. The sponsoring institution has the primary purpose of providing educational programs and/or health care services (e.g., a university, a medical school, a hospital, a school of public health, a health department, a public health agency, an organized health care delivery system, a medical examiner’s office, a consortium, an educational foundation).
Trainee
A physician in training at an ACGME accredited graduate medical education program, the term includes Interns, Residents, and Fellows or other trainee enrolled in an educational program whose education falls under the purview of the College of Medicine Office of Graduate Medical Education.
3.0 Responsibilities
GMEC and DIO
4.0 Procedures
WSU employees acting within the scope of their employment are covered by Washington’s State Self-Insurance Liability Program (SILP). Non-employed faculty and staff supervising WSU Trainees must maintain professional liability coverage at approved levels. Professional liability insurance for all employed Trainees and WSU employed faculty and staff, while acting in good faith within the scope of the WSU sponsored training program, is provided under the State of Washington Self-Insurance Liability Program (SILP) and the Tort Claims Act (RCW 4.92.060 et seq.).
There is NO coverage for professional activities outside the scope of the training program for any activity that is not an approved component of the training program, or for moonlighting, under any circumstances. Trainees who engage in securing employment outside their training program (moonlighting) are responsible for purchasing and maintaining their own professional liability insurance for these activities. The Trainee is required to provide evidence of the professional liability insurance coverage to their Program Director as part of the Permission to Engage in Moonlighting Form.
Questions about the scope of professional liability coverage should be directed to the WSU risk management office or GME Office. Official documentation and the details of professional liability coverage is provided as Attachment A to this policy as well as the State Agency Self-Insurance Liability Program website. A copy of this official documentation regarding the details of liability coverage can be provided upon request of the Trainee.
If you should receive a summons and complaint naming you or WSU as a defendant in a civil lawsuit arising out of your training with the University, please have them immediately delivered to the Attorney General’s Office, WSU Division (AGO). You must report all summons and legal complaints to the AGO or GME Office as soon as possible. Do not discuss the suit with anyone other than the WSU attorneys (AGO). Do not talk to the plaintiff or the plaintiff’s attorney. Refer all requests for documents to the WSU attorneys or the Office of Graduate Medical Education. More information can be found in the WSU Business Policies and Procedures Manual.
Professional liability coverage includes legal defense and protection against awards from claims reported or filed during participation in each sponsored training program(s), or after the completion of the program(s) if the alleged acts or omissions of the Trainee are within the scope of the program(s). Therefore, Trainees will not need to purchase tail coverage for their time in the training program.
5.0 Related Policies
GME Moonlighting
6.0 Key Search Words
Liability Coverage; Malpractice Insurance.
7.0 Revision History
GMEC Approval: 4/20/2021
Revision/Review Date(s):
Responsible Office: College of Medicine GME Office
Policy Contact: Designated Institutional Official
Supersedes: N/A