Standards for Professional Behavior

The faculty has established professional standards that all medical students must meet to progress through and successfully complete the Four-Year MD Program. The School of Medicine (SOM) reserves the right to issue a warning, place a student on probation, suspend, or dismiss a student whose conduct demonstrates an inability to meet these standards.

All Terms 1–5 courses include professional behavior standards. Failure to meet these standards may result in a penalty of up to 15% of the total available course points and may also result in a grade of F in the course.

Students are expected to abide by the University Code of Conduct and to demonstrate professional behavior at all times. The University Code of Conduct can be found on the SGU website. Serious breaches of the SGU Code of Conduct may result in immediate administrative or disciplinary action, including suspension, in accordance with University policies and procedures.

In addition to the professional standards outlined in the MD Program Outcomes relating to professional behavior, each course syllabus and learning pathway specifies additional expectations. Where these expectations are not explicitly stated, students are expected to comply with SOM policies and to demonstrate a conscientious, good-faith effort to participate fully in the program, its activities, and its assessments with honesty and integrity.

The Professional Expectations are mandatory and are listed below. 

All students are required to attest to these expectations at the beginning of each term.

1. I understand that I am registered in an MD program and that I am expected to be committed to upholding the highest academic and professional standards during my tenure.
2. I understand that the course syllabus, the learning pathway, and the Student Manual are authoritative guides to the courses administered in the SOM, and outline the policies, regulations, and expectations.
3. I have read the course syllabus, learning pathway, and Student Manual, and I am aware of the SOM course policies and procedures.
4. I have functional devices that meet the requirements published by Examination Services and can fully participate in this course, including devices for the audience response system (clickers) and course assessments (laptops)
5. I understand that the course incorporates participation activities that require my physical presence in class, and that missing participation for any reason (technical or otherwise) is covered by the 80% participation requirement.
6. I understand how participation credit is earned for all course activities and that if I cannot participate according to the requirements set out in the syllabus and learning pathway, then I cannot earn credit for that activity.
7. I understand that it is my responsibility to keep track of my own participation records and report errors to the course administration as per the time limit stated in the syllabus.
8. I am aware that I need to demonstrate timeliness to all scheduled activities, to come prepared, to actively participate, and to be compliant with all course and examination policies. I understand that if I fail to meet all these expectations, then I may not earn any professionalism points in this course and may face additional penalties as specified in the course syllabus.
9. I understand that examinations are conducted under standard examination conditions.
10. I have read the rules governing electronic examinations in the student manual and in the syllabus, and I will abide by these policies and procedures.
11. I understand that if I fail to follow examination policy and procedures, I may have academic penalties applied to my course grade.
12. I understand that any technical problems that occur during examinations must be reported immediately to the exam proctors and that any exam completed without immediate recourse to technical support through the published process will stand as completed.
13. I understand how to use Examplify.
14. I understand that it is my responsibility to check the course site at least once a day while enrolled in a course and to keep up to date with course requirements.
15. I understand that it is my responsibility to check my SGU email daily whilst enrolled in the MD program and be responsive to communications.
16. I understand that my course notification settings must be set to “immediately” to ensure timely receipt of all announcements and emails, and I am responsible for staying up to date with all course communications delivered through these channels.
17. I am aware of the progression requirements for the SOM MD program and the passing grades required for each term.
18. I have read and understood the SOM mistreatment policy, including the Non-Tolerance for Retaliation statement.
19. I understand that I may be recorded at any time in any of the academic sessions including lectures and all categories of small group sessions.
20. I have read and understood the sections of the course syllabus on course policy, compliance, and the associated penalties for non-compliance.
21. I understand that I must register my devices on the SGU network.
22. I have registered my clicker, and I am able to participate fully in course activities.
23. I understand that it is my responsibility to maintain and check the functionality of my clicker regularly by monitoring the green LED response after a successful response transmission.
24. I understand that I can only use the clicker that I have registered to my account for participation in course activities.
25. I understand that misrepresentation of participation and/or performance through the misuse of clickers constitutes academic dishonesty and is a violation of the Honor code. It will incur academic penalties, and judicial referrals, as outlined in the syllabus.
26. I understand that no photos or recordings should be taken of the standardized patients or the real patients in the hospital or clinic. Additionally, no photos or recordings should be taken of cadavers in anatomy cadaver labs.
27. I will protect the confidentiality of all patient information, including medical records, diagnoses, treatments, personal details, and any identifiable data. I will only access, use, or disclose such information as required for my educational duties and as authorized by my supervisors.
28. I will not discuss patient information outside of the educational setting. I will protect all types of patient data, refrain from removing information from affiliated facilities without proper authorization, keep my access credentials secure, and promptly report any breaches of confidentiality.