Skip to main content

Initiatives

The Office of the Learning Environment spearheads and participates in many initiatives that aim to improve the learning environment at Pitt Med. 

Professionalism Accolade and Incident Reporting (PAIR) System

The Professional Accolade and Incident Reporting (PAIR) System is a secure, confidential database that the OLE uses to process and store the accolade and incident submissions we receive. Reports can be submitted directly to an OLE dean or using the online form.  More information about PAIR, the reporting process, and the incident response procedure can be found on the Incidents and Accolades sections of our site.

Presentations and Trainings

The OLE deans regularly give learning environment presentations and trainings to students, educators, and administrators. Several of their presentations have been made available under Trainings. These presentations set expectations for a positive learning environment and bring awareness to policies/procedures and reporting processes.

The OLE deans present to and advise faculty in all core clerkship clinical departments and graduate programs. Dr. Reis presents to new residents and fellows during annual UPMC GME orientation, and to medical students at several points during their medical education, including during orientation and preclerkship week. Dr. Mars often gives presentations to the SOM Graduate Council, the BGSA, and various graduate programs.

Awareness of Reporting System and Policies

The OLE deans have many initiatives to make sure students and educators are aware of the Professional Accolade and Incident Reporting (PAIR) System and relevant learning environment policies. Some of these initiatives include creating a lanyard hang tag promoting the PAIR form which is distributed to new medical and graduate students during orientation, regularly giving presentations and trainings to educators and students, and creating informational graphics for clerkship and program directors to share.

Learning Environment Committees

The OLE runs several Learning Environment Committees, where students and faculty can directly discuss their suggestions, concerns, and questions with the OLE deans on a regular basis. These committees often inform the OLE's efforts to advocate for change within the School of Medicine administration.

For example, the OLE often brings ideas from the Learning Environment Committees to the other committees we participate in, including the Learning Environment Across Systems (LEAS) Committee, Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Committee, Vice Chairs for Education Committee, SOM Graduate Council, and UME-GME Committee.

Learning Environment Data Distribution

The OLE regularly distributes aggregated learning environment data via presentations and email communications to educators and students, as well as on our website under Data. The OLE deans also meet annually with the leadership in every department to review their department's aggregated learning environment data. 

Graduate Student Workshop Series

Dr. Mars put together a series of workshops and training sessions for all incoming Ph.D. graduate students that was initiated in the fall of 2021. Sessions included: 

  • Selecting Mentors and Expectations Fostering a Diverse and Inclusive Environment 
  • Microaggressions
  • Implicit Bias
  • Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct
  • My Voice Has Power: Bystander Intervention Strategies
  • Library Overview Session

These workshops are being offered to annually current graduate students.

Medical School Advisory Group (MSAG) Consultation

Given ongoing challenges in optimizing the learning environment, the OLE and Office of Medical Education contracted with the Medical School Advisory Group (MSAG) in 2024 to identify sources of these challenges and make recommendations to address them.

MSAG is compromised of experts with extensive experience in medical and health professions education, LCME and higher education accreditation, certification, and other professional regulation. For over 20 years, MSAG, lead by Dr. Nora, has been a well-recognized and trusted partner for schools and other organizations in medicine and the health professions.

After months of preparation by the OLE and MSAG, including meetings with leadership and relevant data review, the consultants conducted 2 days of on-site focus groups with over 120 stakeholders in the UPSOM community, including students, faculty, residents, staff, and administration. The MSAG final report highlighted their findings and included recommendations for positive change at UPSOM. The OLE immediately began implementing suggested changes with support from leadership.

Climate Surveys

OLE works with the University's Office of Engagement and Wellbeing to distribute and analyze climate surveys focused on issues related to graduate education. These surveys help to identify areas of mistreatment on campus.