# Can a resident be fired without a hearing? Structural Commentary · Published 2026-06-16 · Resident Help **Short answer:** Usually not without some process. The ACGME requires sponsoring institutions to have a due process policy covering suspension, non-renewal, non-promotion, and dismissal, and that policy sets the hearing you are owed. Courts have held that a genuinely academic dismissal needs no formal hearing when the trainee was fully informed and the decision was careful and deliberate, so notice and process are what you check first. The short answer is that your institution's own policy usually decides, and accredited institutions are required to have one. If you were dismissed without a hearing, or told you are not entitled to one, tell us what you received: [start a confidential intake](https://www.residenthelp.org/intake). ## What the ACGME requires The ACGME Institutional Requirements obligate every sponsoring institution to maintain a policy that provides residents with due process for suspension, non-renewal, non-promotion, and dismissal, regardless of when in the appointment period the action is taken. The ACGME sets the floor. The procedures, deadlines, and hearing format live in your institution's written policy. See [the policy you need to find today](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/acgme-requires-a-grievance-and-due-process-policy). ## The "academic dismissal" argument Programs sometimes say an academic dismissal needs no hearing. That argument comes from the Supreme Court's decision in Horowitz, where a medical student dismissed for clinical deficiencies was held not to need a formal hearing, because she had been fully informed of the problem and the decision was careful and deliberate. The protection depends on those facts. No notice, no deliberation, no Horowitz. And a later case, Ewing, held that an academic decision stands unless it substantially departs from accepted academic norms. A program that skipped steps in its own written process is describing that departure. See [the cases every resident should know](https://www.residenthelp.org/cases). ## Your policy may promise more Many institutional policies promise more than the constitutional minimum: a hearing panel, the right to present evidence, an advisor, and a written decision. If your policy promises a hearing, the program is bound by its own promise, whatever the Constitution requires. ## Public or private At a public institution, constitutional due process arguments may be available. At a private institution, the analysis usually runs through contract law: did the institution follow its own written policies. In both, the institution's compliance with its own procedures is where most disputes are decided. See [what each word means](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/remediation-probation-non-renewal-dismissal-what-each-means). ## What to do - Ask in writing which policy applies and what process it gives you. - File the hearing or appeal request before the deadline, even if the program says none is required. See [how to appeal a residency dismissal](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/how-to-appeal-residency-dismissal). - Write down every notice you were given about the deficiency, and when. ## If this is happening to you Facing a deadline from your program? Tell us what you have received and when your deadline is. We will review your situation confidentially and point you to the right next step: [start a confidential intake](https://www.residenthelp.org/intake). Resident Help is not a law firm, and submitting an intake does not create an attorney-client relationship. If your situation needs a lawyer, we will tell you and help you find one. ## Common questions ### Can a resident be fired without a hearing? Accredited institutions must provide due process for dismissal under their own written policy, so a hearing or appeal is usually available. What form it takes, and whether it is a live hearing or a record review, depends on the policy. ### My program says my dismissal is academic, so no hearing is required. Is that right? Courts have accepted that a genuinely academic dismissal needs no formal hearing, but only where the trainee was fully informed of the deficiency and the decision was careful and deliberate. Your institution's own policy may also promise more process than that. ### Does it matter if my hospital is public or private? Yes. At public institutions, constitutional due process arguments may be available. At private institutions, disputes usually turn on contract and whether the institution followed its own written policies. ## Sources - Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, Institutional Requirements, 2025, https://www.acgme.org/globalassets/pfassets/programrequirements/2025-reformatted-requirements/institutionalrequirements_2025_reformatted.pdf - Board of Curators of the University of Missouri v. Horowitz, 435 U.S. 78 (1978), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/435/78/ - Regents of the University of Michigan v. Ewing, 474 U.S. 214 (1985), https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/474/214/ This post is general information and not legal advice. Institutional policies and board rules change, so confirm the version in force on your dates. ## Related guidance - [How to appeal a residency dismissal, step by step](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/how-to-appeal-residency-dismissal): Appealing a dismissal from residency runs on your institution's own due process policy. The steps repeat across programs: preserve the deadline, get the record, build the case on the program's own documents, and plan for the outcome before the decision. - [Your institution has to have a written grievance and due process policy. Find it today.](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/acgme-requires-a-grievance-and-due-process-policy): Accredited sponsoring institutions are required to maintain written policies for resident grievances and for adverse actions. The version in force on your dates is the document your case turns on. - [Remediation, probation, non-renewal, dismissal: what each word actually means in GME](https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/remediation-probation-non-renewal-dismissal-what-each-means): Graduate medical education discipline runs on a ladder of terms that sound interchangeable and are not. Which word your program uses determines what rights attach, what gets disclosed later, and what to do next. ## Start here - [Questions residents ask, answered](https://www.residenthelp.org/faq): Short answers to every question our guides cover, from resignation offers and appeal deadlines to accommodations and visas. - [Know your rights as a resident](https://www.residenthelp.org/rights): What your program owes you under ACGME requirements, what federal law protects, and the first 72 hours. - [Court decisions on resident dismissal and probation](https://www.residenthelp.org/cases): Published opinions every resident should know before a probation, dismissal, or forced-leave decision. - [The free Residency Record](https://www.residenthelp.org/record): The documents every resident should keep, the dates that decide non-renewal, and a private place for both. --- Source: https://www.residenthelp.org/blog/can-a-resident-be-fired-without-a-hearing Publisher: Resident Help (https://www.residenthelp.org) This website provides general information and is not legal advice. Using this site or submitting a form does not create an attorney client relationship.