The School of Medicine is committed to maintaining a supportive, professional, and high-quality learning, research, and clinical environment. To address professionalism concerns early and constructively, we are introducing a Faculty Peer Intervention (FPI) program.
The Faculty Peer Intervention program is a non-investigative intervention designed to promote early awareness, reflection, and behavior change around faculty professionalism concerns. These are non-disciplinary, peer-to-peer conversations delivered by trained Faculty Peer Facilitators designed to share feedback so faculty can self-correct before issues escalate.
2026 Pilot
We are launching a pilot in Summer 2026 for five departments in the School of Medicine: Biochemistry, Genome Sciences, Otolaryngology, Radiation Oncology, and Urology.
The goals of the pilot are to:
- Test the feasibility of a faculty peer-led intervention program specifically for early professionalism concerns
- Build a robust cohort of Faculty Peer Facilitators
Frequently Asked Questions
What falls under FPI criteria? What does not?
FPI handles single-occurrence professionalism or communication issues that may disrupt the team or learning environment, but do not rise to the level of policy violations or formal processes or investigation. Examples include:
- An unprofessional comment that negatively impacts the learning or working environment.
- Patient feedback noting a provider seemed overly rushed, dismissive, or failed to make eye contact.
- Dismissive or sharp communication toward a student during a lab or research meeting.
FPI is not:
- A disciplinary process
- An investigation
- A replacement for HR, compliance, or formal reporting pathways
- A determination of whether a concern is “true” or “false”
Is this a new reporting tool?
No, FPI is an effector arm for early, single-occurrence faculty professionalism reports that come into existing reporting structures across the School of Medicine, such as the Bias Reporting Tool, Medical Directors Office, department leadership, and undergraduate medical education and graduate medical education reporting tools. Reports that meet FPI criteria will be assigned to a trained faculty facilitator to schedule a brief, informal conversation with the faculty member indicated in the report.
Is this a disciplinary process?
No. FPI is strictly an awareness-level intervention. It is entirely separate from formal HR performance management, FPPE/OPPE, or the traditional supervisory chain. The goal is to provide a safe space for faculty to receive honest, constructive feedback from a peer so they can self-correct.
My department isn't in the pilot. What should I do if an issue arises?
Faculty outside of the five pilot departments (Biochemistry, Genome Sciences, Otolaryngology, Radiation Oncology, and Urology) should continue to utilize standard SoM channels, including direct discussions with supervisors, your department’s academic HR leader, restorative practices, the Ombud, or existing reporting tools.
How will the pilot be evaluated?
Following the pilot, the program will undergo a thorough evaluation. We will look at metrics like the number of reports, the time elapsed from report to conversation, and qualitative feedback and themes from both the facilitators and pilot department leaders.
Where can I send questions I have about FPI?
Please email som-fpi@uw.edu with any questions or comments about this program.