2 RISP Honor Code
Embarking on a career in the life sciences, medicine, and other healthcare professions is a privilege that carries lifelong moral and ethical responsibilities and begins the moment an individual becomes a member of the academic medicine community.
To achieve its vision to lead the transformation of health care through quality, innovation, and education to make Indiana one of the nation’s healthiest states, the IU School of Medicine (IUSM) must recruit and nurture exceptional individuals who are equipped to learn, teach, practice, and conduct research in challenging and diverse settings. IUSM expects its community members to treat one another respectfully and facilitate an atmosphere of cooperation and collegiality. The School demands excellence and expects community members to always act with integrity. Recognizing the damaging effects that bias, discrimination, and exclusion have on the work environment, patient care, medical research, medical education, and healthcare outcomes, IUSM strives to be a place that is diverse, welcoming, and inclusive for all and commits to identifying and dismantling hate, oppression, systemic racism, and discrimination in academic medicine. IUSM expects all in its community to reflect on these values and ensure that their views, beliefs, actions, and inactions do not, intentionally or unintentionally, perpetuate the problem of healthcare inequity.
To this end, the IUSM Honor Code outlines the core values governing research, education, and clinical practice that all IUSM community members, including students, faculty, and staff, are expected to uphold. These include:
- Excellence reflected in the innovative conduct and advancement of education, research, and patient care.
- I will strive for excellence in all I do, including advancing my field and/or providing the highest quality of care to all patients at all times. I commit myself to lifelong professional development, continuous improvement, and advancing research and the practice of medicine. I will recognize my limitations, be open to feedback, and seek help when appropriate.
- Respect for all individuals affiliated with, or come in contact with, Indiana University School of Medicine: students, residents, fellows, faculty, staff partners, communities, patients, and families.
- I will respond to societal needs with competence, altruism, and morality, reflecting the expectations of the social contract with my community. I will respect the dignity of others, display cultural humility, and act with civility and compassion. I recognize that a career in the life sciences, medicine, and other healthcare professions requires me to subordinate my own interests to the interests of those I serve.
- Integrity that embraces the very highest standards of ethical behavior and exemplary moral character.
- I will take responsibility for what I say and do in my personal and professional activities, maintaining the highest standards of honesty and civility. I will conduct and present myself professionally in the presence of patients, learners, amongst peers, and in any professional setting. I will be dependable and ethical in meeting my professional obligations so that I inspire confidence and earn the trust others place in me.
- Diversity and Inclusion that is reflected in actions that appreciate and value all individuals and a commitment to being an inclusive and equitable community.
- I will contribute to creating a safe, inclusive, and supportive atmosphere for teaching, learning, caring for patients, and conducting research. I commit to listening to and respecting the perspectives of others, aiming to learn from them what actions, practices, and policies, and structures they experience as racist, discriminatory, exclusionary, or otherwise detrimental to the community. I will champion healthcare equity in both medicine and society and be committed to transforming the way research is conducted and care is provided in order to eliminate health disparities.
- Cooperation that is manifested in collegial communication and collaboration.
- I will exhibit professionalism in all interactions and work to resolve conflicts in a manner that preserves the dignity of every person involved. I understand that medicine and science are team-based and will foster an espirt de corps through my interactions with others, respecting the importance of all members’ contributions to the medical community’s shared goals.
All members of the IUSM community, including students, faculty, and staff, must commit to enacting and embodying these Core Values in order to warrant the trust placed in them by patients, families, peers, and society at large and to begin to address the existing disparities in healthcare. By becoming part of the IU School of Medicine community, you are expressly dedicating yourself to this commitment. Violations of the Honor Code may result in discipline as provided by the Honor Code Policy and System.
As stated in the Honor Code Policy and System: IU School of Medicine recognizes free intellectual inquiry, debate, and constructive dialogue are vital to the university’s academic mission and must be protected even when the views expressed are unpopular or controversial. Accordingly, any form of speech or expressive conduct that is protected by state or federal law, including the First Amendment, is not subject to this policy. This policy is meant neither to proscribe nor to inhibit discussion of complex, controversial, or sensitive matters.
Medical students from the Indiana University School of Medicine developed the Honor Code in 2003. It was reaffirmed and approved by the Faculty Steering Committee on 2/21/13, and by the School Executive Committee on 3/11/13. Honor Code revised on 2.10.2021 by the IU School of Medicine Honor Code taskforce and endorsed and/or approved by the following:
• Multicultural Physician Alliance (3/23/21)
• Faculty Development Coordinating Committee (4/1/21)
• Regional Campus Deans (4/5/21)
• House Staff Forum (4/6/21)
• Health Professions Program Executive Committee (4/8/21)
• Graduate Program Oversight Committee (4/9/21)
• Diversity Council (4/12/21)
• IU School of Medicine Representatives to the IUI Staff Council (4/12/21)
• Diversity-related Student Interest Groups (4/19/21)
• Curriculum Council Steering Committee (4/20/21)
• Human Resources Business Partners (4/21/21)
• Graduate Medical Education Committee (4/21/21)
• Women’s Advisory Council (4/27/21)
• Biomedical Graduate Student Advocacy Association (4/30/21)
• Medical Student Council (5/5/21)
• Faculty Steering Committee (4/15/21)
• School Executive Committee (5/3/21)
