Sometimes, after completing the APPIC Informal Problem Consultation process, a serious problem cannot be adequately resolved and there may be concerns that an individual or a training program is not following APPIC Policies and procedures. For these situations, a formal complaint may be filed with the APPIC Standards and Review Committee (ASARC). ASARC does NOT reverse decisions of training programs though that may occur. ASARC puts the focus on a program's policies and procedures and attempts to ensure they meet and follow APPIC membership criteria. Programs may be removed from membership if they are unable to make those changes or do not provide evidence that they have made changes to ensure they follow APPIC membership criteria
The purpose of ASARC is:
(a) to investigate alleged violations of APPIC policies and procedures,
(b) to recommend an appropriate response to the APPIC Board of Directors upon determining that a policy violation has occurred, and
(c) to serve in a consultative or educative role when queries are made regarding APPIC policies and procedures.
In response to a complaint filed with ASARC, the APPIC Board may decide to impose sanctions on individuals or training programs that violate APPIC policies with the expected outcome that programs will increase their quality and it will improve both the training program and competency of trainees. Programs that are non responsive will be deemed withdrawn from APPIC if they do not respond to complaints within the time lines provided.
While the ASARC process may not resolve an individual's or training program's immediate concerns, this process helps ensure the APPIC policy and procedures are consistently enforced in the future.
For more information on the formal complaint procedures, please see the ASARC Procedures for Handling Grievances and Violations of APPIC Policies. Please note that there are time limitations on the filing of formal complaints; see the full ASARC Policy for specifics. In addition, APPIC policies state that concerns must first be brought to the Informal Problem Consultation process before a formal complaint is filed. Any formal or informal complaint that involves a legal action (hired/obtained an attorney) APPIC will review these, case by case, and the APPIC Board will determine whether to pause the investigation.
Review: ASARC Policies
Link to File an IPC: Informal Problem Consultation (IPC)