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Faculty of Health Sciences

Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments (ORCCA)

About Us

The Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments (ORCCA) functions as a community resource for all Faculty of Health Sciences members to educate, promote, support and address respectful conduct and behaviour across academic and clinical environments.

Our Director

Message from the director of the Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments (ORCCA)

I am honoured to join the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) as the first director of the Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments (ORCCA). Many years ago, I had the pleasure of being a member of the FHS community as a student within the bachelor of health sciences community. Returning as the director of ORCCA is a homecoming of sorts and I am ecstatic to be back at McMaster!

ORCCA will serve as the faculty’s central resource for all matters related to discrimination and harassment, sexual and gender-based violence, respectful conduct and professionalism. ORCCA can assist with strategy, guidelines, policy development, education, communication, early interventions, climate reviews, formal complaint navigation and support.

ORCCA is available to support and provide guidance to students, faculty (both clinical and non-clinical) and staff across all health disciplines within the FHS community. ORCCA coordinates with the Equity and Inclusion Office, the Sexual Violence and Prevention Office and the Student Case Management Office.

As the director of ORCCA, I am dedicated to establishing a transparent and procedurally fair office that will foster a vibrant, collaborative and safe culture within the Faculty.

I am thrilled to launch this office and collaborate with the FHS community.

Louis Winston
Director, Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments
Faculty of Health Sciences

Our Vision

Our vision is to foster respectful, safe, equitable and inclusive working and learning environments across the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS), with a focus on supporting and upholding professional values, human rights and cultivating respect for all.

Expandable List

ORCCA is a community resource for all Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS) members. Our goal is to educate, promote, support and address respectful conduct and professionalism across academic, clinical and non-clinical environments. The office provides consultations in a trauma-informed and equity-based approach for all parties to a concern or complaint. As the central FHS resource for conduct concerns, the office is focused on early interventions, dispute resolution and when required, as an intake office.

ORCCA is the central hub for education, strategy and policy development, and consultation, as it relates to discrimination and harassment, sexual and gender-based violence, professionalism, learner mistreatment and other conduct-related issues across the working and learning environments within the FHS.

The Office of Respectful Conduct in Clinical and Academic Environments (ORCCA):

  1. Is a resource available to the FHS community to help students, faculty and staff understand and navigate the university’s policies on discrimination and harassment, professionalism, mistreatment and sexual violence in a trauma-informed manner. We can help interpret relevant university and faculty policies and provide information about the appropriate support and reporting options.
  2. Offers education and informational sessions about university policy, codes of conduct for students and faculty, and professionalism. We also support FHS programs in evaluating and addressing breaches of professionalism.
  3. Is an intake office specifically for the FHS community. We handle the University’s Discrimination and Harassment Policy (PDF) and Sexual Violence Policy (PDF). We offer consultation to help individuals make informed decisions about the next steps, including early resolution, interventions, mediation and filing complaints.
  4. Can support and assist with dispute resolution approaches, when suitable. We work with the affected individuals and others with expertise in dispute resolution to de-escalate situations and address the root causes of concerns.
  5. Can facilitate early interventions, such as fact-finding discussions, issue clarification, facilitated conversations, coaching, mediation and voluntary no-contact agreements.
  6. Provides expertise to the Faculty of Health Sciences on respectful conduct and appropriate behaviour in clinical and academic environments. We can offer guidance on applying university policies and provide direction to health professionals for mandatory reporting.
  • Respect: We treat every individual with respect and empathy, valuing their dignity and diverse perspectives.
  • Integrity and accountability: We uphold the highest ethical standards, ensuring transparency, honesty and accountability in all our actions.
  • Transparency: We will ensure that information about our processes is publicly available and that individuals engaging with our office understand what will transpire. We are also committed to being clear about our limits of confidentiality.
  • Collaboration: We believe in the power of collective action and actively seek partnerships to maximize our positive impact.
  • Education: We believe in the power of knowledge to drive positive change. We strive to educate individuals about their rights and responsibilities, professional expectations and how to achieve fair dispute resolution.
  • Continuous improvement: We are committed to ongoing learning and improvement, to enhance our effectiveness and relevance in addressing emerging issues related to human rights, professionalism and dispute resolution.

Our Role

ORCCA serves as an office to address issues under the University’s Discrimination and Harassment Policy (PDF) and Sexual Violence Policy (PDF). ORCCA also oversees the Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Graduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF)  and Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Undergraduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF). Our staff will provide confidential support to help our community members navigate these policies.

ORCCA works closely with our hospital partners to ensure a safe and equitable clinical environment for our faculty, staff and learners.

Expandable List

ORCCA is community resource across all working and learning environments within the Faculty of Health Sciences. We can assist community members with:

  • Policy navigation
  • Alternative dispute resolution/mediation
  • Early interventions
  • Educational sessions
  • Climate reviews
  • Professional conduct and misconduct
  • Confidential consultations

ORCCA also oversees the Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Graduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF)  and Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Undergraduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF). We can assist the the Faculty of Health Sciences community to manage concerns about professionalism and respectful conduct.

ORCCA serves the Faculty of Health Sciences community as its dedicated intake office for the Discrimination and Harassment Policy (PDF) and Sexual Violence Policy (PDF).

Educational programs within the Faculty can address professionalism concerns under the Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Graduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF)  and Professional Behaviour Code of Conduct for Undergraduate Learners – Faculty of Health Sciences (PDF).

ORCCA works closely with our clinical and hospital partners to ensure learners and clinical faculty work in respectful environments. Hospital partners may bring concerns to our attention and ORCCA will consult with our clinical partners when required.