Standards of Honor and Professional Conduct
The Standards of Honor and Professional Conduct Policies are guided by the mission and vision statements of our institution. Upon entering this institution, the Essential Values are expected to be our common understanding.
Physician Assistants are called to the highest standards of honor and professional conduct. Understanding that this responsibility begins not upon graduation but rather at the inception of one's medical education, the students of the Wake Forest School of Medicine uphold the following standards which serve as an embodiment of conduct and integrity. These standards strive to foster an atmosphere of honesty, trust, and cooperation among students, instructors, patients, and society.
Behavior considered appropriate for a career in medicine includes, but is not limited to:
Be truthful in communication with others.
Refrain from cheating, plagiarism, or misrepresentation in the fulfillment of academic requirements.
Maintain the confidentiality of patient information.
Maintain confidentiality of student assessment/evaluation information.
Admit errors, and do not intentionally mislead others or promote yourself at the expense of a student peer, professional colleague or patient.
Be thoughtful and professional when interacting with patients, their families, professional colleagues or student peers.
Strive to maintain composure under pressures of fatigue, professional stress or personal problems.
Avoid offensive language, gestures or inappropriate remarks with sexual overtones.
Maintain a neat and clean appearance, and dress in attire that is reasonable as a student and accepted as professional to the patient population served.
Create an atmosphere which encourages learning, characterized by cooperative relationships to student peers and/or to the patient population served.
Deal with professional, staff and peer members of the health team and in study groups in a considerate manner and with a spirit of cooperation.
Act with an egalitarian spirit toward all persons encountered in a professional capacity, regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual preference, socioeconomic status or educational achievement.
Respect the right of patients and their families to be informed and share in patient care decisions.
Respect patients', standardized patients’ or peers’ modesty and privacy.
Respect the diversity of learning styles within your student class.
Participate in study groups and class assignments responsibly to the best of one’s ability.
Participate responsibly in patient care to the best of one’s ability and with appropriate supervision.
Undertake clinical duties and persevere until they are complete.
Notify the responsible person if something interferes with ability to perform clinical tasks effectively.
Treat patients, their families and our peers or professional colleagues with respect and dignity both in their presence and in discussions with others.
Consider what is hurtful or helpful to patients and use that as a guide for participating in patients' medical care.
Consider what is hurtful or helpful to student peers and use that as a guide for participating in study groups
Discern accurately when supervision or advice is needed, and seek these out before acting.
Recognize when your ability to function effectively is compromised, and ask for relief or help.
Avoid the use of alcohol or drugs in a way that could compromise patient care or our own performance.
Avoid engaging in romantic, sexual or other non-professional relationships with a patient, even upon the apparent request of a patient.
Updated May 2011