The educational program in the School of Medicine has been developed to support and encourage the collegiality and professionalism essential to an effective learning environment. Students who believe that they have been punitively assessed or mistreated because of religion, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age or other factors have access to the School of Medicine ombudspersons.
The ombudspersons are empowered to receive and investigate reports of mistreatment in a completely confidential manner, to mediate between the parties involved, and, in the event mediation is not successful, to make recommendations directly to the dean of the School of Medicine regarding appropriate resolution of any complaints.

The use of the ombudspersons’ services to resolve a complaint represents a form of alternate dispute resolution. For this reason, the services of the ombudspersons will no longer be available to a student once that student engages an attorney to initiate legal action against the School of Medicine, the University of South Carolina, or the employees of those institutions.

The 2008/2009 Ombudspersons for the School of Medicine are:

M-I and M-II Students
Richard (Rich) L. Goodwin, Ph.D. 
Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy

School of Medicine
VA Campus, Building 1 Room B-18

Phone:  (803) 216-3811
richard.goodwin@uscmed.sc.edu

M-III and M-IV Students
Robin B. Welsh, MD
Department of Pediatrics

14 Medical Park, Suite 400

Phone:  (803) 479-1999
robin.welsh@palmettohealth.org

Greenville Students
Robbie Robinson, MD
Department of Pediatrics

Greenville Hospital System
University Medical Center

(864) 455-3512
 rrobinson@ghs.org