Compact Between Teachers and Learners of Medicine
Preparation for a career in medicine requires the acquisition of a large fund of knowledge and a host of special skills. It also demands the strengthening of those virtues that undergird the doctor/patient relationship and that sustain the profession of medicine as a moral enterprise. This Compact serves both as a pledge and as a reminder to teachers and learners that their conduct in fulfilling their mutual obligations is the medium through which the profession inculcates its ethical values.
Guiding Principles of the Educational Compact
Duty: All participants in the education mission have a duty to sustain a learning environment conducive to maintaining the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary for providing contemporary standards of professional behavior.
Integrity: All education participants/parties will behave in a manner that reflects individual and institutional commitment to intellectual and moral excellence.
Respect: Fundamental to the ethic of professions is respect for every individual. Mutual respect between learners, as newer members of the profession, and their teachers, as experienced professionals, is essential for nurturing that ethic. In addition to individual respect, all educational parties must respect and follow established professional policies.
COMMITMENTS OF FACULTY
- We pledge our utmost effort to ensure that all components of the educational program for students and residents are of high quality.
- As mentors for our student and resident colleagues, we maintain high professional standards in all of our interactions with patients, colleagues, faculty, allied health, and staff.
- We respect all students and residents as individuals, without regard to gender, race, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation; we will not tolerate anyone who manifests disrespect or who expresses biased attitudes towards any student or resident.
- We pledge that students and residents will have sufficient time to fulfill personal and family obligations, to enjoy recreational activities, and to obtain adequate rest; we monitor and, when necessary, reduce the time required to fulfill educational objectives, including time required for “call” on clinical rotations, to ensure students’ and residents’ well-being.
- In nurturing both the intellectual and the personal development of students and residents, we celebrate expressions of professional attitudes and behaviors, as well as achievement of academic excellence.
We do not tolerate any abuse or exploitation of students or residents. - We encourage any student or resident who experiences mistreatment or who witnesses unprofessional behavior to report the facts immediately to appropriate faculty, allied health or staff; we treat all such reports as confidential and do not tolerate reprisals or retaliations of any kind.
COMMITMENTS OF STUDENTS AND RESIDENTS
- We pledge our utmost effort to acquire the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and behaviors required to fulfill all educational objectives established by the faculty.
- We cherish the professional virtues of honesty, compassion, integrity, fidelity, and dependability.
- We pledge to respect all faculty members and all students and residents as individuals, without regard to gender, race, national origin, religion, or sexual orientation.
- As physicians in training, we embrace the highest standards of the medical profession and pledge to conduct ourselves accordingly in all of our interactions with patients, colleagues, faculty, allied health, and staff.
- In fulfilling our own obligations as professionals, we pledge to assist our fellow students and residents in meeting their professional obligations, as well.
We will practice honesty and integrity in all academic endeavors. I will not share assessment and instructional materials with other students that could inappropriately impact their learning experience or assessment.
