Student Code of Conduct

Medical students at NWSM should:

1. Have professional values, attitudes, and relationships that foster the trust that the individuals and society have in doctors.
2. Be empathetic, altruistic and culturally sensitive when interacting with patients and their families, faculty, and colleagues.
3. Never exhibit inappropriate behavior under any circumstances, including but not limited to, the use of offensive language, gestures, or remarks with sexual connotations.
4. Comply with Dress Code according to school/hospital policy while interacting with inpatients, out-patients (including standardized patients), and faculty in clinical setting.

Medical students at NWSM will:

1. Maintain respectful and encouraging environment during learning sessions
2. Demonstrate respect towards teachers/instructors/facilitators who have devoted their time to teaching medical students. These may be junior or senior doctors, nurses or allied health professionals. Respect their time and effort during learning activities by showing timely attendance, interest and participation.
3. Interact with patients professionally and respect their decisions at all times.

Medical students at NWSM will:

1. Always prioritize patients and patient safety
2. Seek help and advice without hesitation when required and when provision of care is beyond the student’s competence level to ensure patients’ safety.
3. Treat patients politely, with respect and valuing their views, privacy, and dignity
4. Deal with members of the health team in a co-operative and considerate manner.
5. Have obligation to uphold school’s reputation in academic and associated activities by following school’s rules and regulations, policies, procedures and guidelines.

Students at NWSM will:

1. Act with honesty and integrity in all aspects of their academic work and in their interactions with fellow students, faculty, patients and staff.
2. Abstain from cheating, plagiarism and academic dishonesty in all its forms, or assist others in the commission of such acts.
3. Comply with the school’s Policy on Academic Misconduct and Plagiarism.
4. Not gain or attempt to gain unpermitted academic advantage through unfair means and actions, directly or indirectly, including but not limited to cheating in tests/assignments/projects/examinations, collusion, possession of unauthorized materials or electronic devices during examination, misconduct in examinations, impersonation/fabrication inclusive of proxies, false authorship and plagiarism and misappropriation of intellectual property.
5. Perform research and report findings ethically and provide references to give due credit to others honestly.
6. Seek support, consultation and supervision whenever they feel providing care to patients is beyond their level of knowledge and experience.
7. Honestly admit errors committed, harm done to patients and not to conceal facts.
8. Report matters of serious concern through the appropriate channels to the authorities.

Students at NWSM will:

1. Follow ethical principles, demonstrate professional accountability, and not discriminate based on race, religion, disability, lifestyle ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, age, or sexual orientation.
2. Demonstrate respect and consideration towards all patients, faculty, staff, class fellows, health specialties, and health care team members.
3. Demonstrate tolerance for diversity, culturally sensitive practice, and special consideration towards vulnerable populations (women, children, older)

1. All the patients have the fundamental right to confidentiality and privacy of their medical information. Students must respect that in all the spoken, written, and electronic sharing of patient information.
2. Students must be aware of NWSM/NWGH/NWTH policy on handling patients’ medical records and under no circumstances violate patients’ right to privacy and confidentiality.
3. Students must respect and uphold the sanctity of Doctor-Patient relationship.

Medical students at NWSM will:

1. Always respect their role as a student doctor and never to misrepresent their position and authority.
2. Always introduce him/herself to patients as a medical student and clearly convey the purpose of their interaction with patients, family members and legal guardians as the case may be.

1. Research conducted by students should follow all Northwest School of Medicine policies and guidelines, and Research Integrity & Ethics procedures outlines by the Institutional Review and Ethics Board of NWSM.

1. Fully comply with school’s Policy on Feedback.
2. Actively participate in the process of evaluating school’s program, both him/herself as well as their teachers.
3. Respond to constructive criticism by appropriate behaviour modification and provide prompt and constructive feedback regarding faculty performance in a respectful manner.
4. Avoid using offensive language or personal attacks.

Students at NWSM will:

1. Fully comply with school’s Policy on Smoking and Substance Use.
2. Abstain from using or distributing all kinds of prohibited substances by law in the school and      in the affiliated hospitals’ premises.
3. Be responsible to protect the patients from an impaired colleague and help an impaired colleague to receive the appropriate support service and treatment. 

1. Students of NWSM are obliged to recognize that their behaviour not only impacts them but also the school, and the entire medical profession. When representing NWSM in activities outside the school, students are expected to conduct themselves according to this code of conduct.
2. Students of NWSM are expected to respect the local norms and cultural obligations and will not violate those.