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Medical Student Professionalism

Connect with CMS

A core competency of Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University is professionalism. In order to meet this competency, students must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, sensitivity to a diverse patient population and the qualities required to sustain lifelong professional growth. All students should, therefore, possess the highest degree of personal integrity and be able to reason about ethical issues in their professional life. Students are expected to treat patients and research subjects with respect, compassion and sincerity, irrespective of race, color, creed, ethnic origin, religion, disability, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or socioeconomic class, and to maintain strict confidentiality. Students are expected to be honest and trustworthy, to respect the property of others, and to follow the code of professional ethics appropriate to their discipline. Any departures from these standards may result in disciplinary action. Professionalism extends beyond interactions with patients and their families to also include relationships and interactions between all those engaged in medical education and the delivery of patient care by physicians, students, administrators, and other health care providers. The Chicago Medical School’s Medical Student Professionalism Policy and the CMS Clinical Site Dress Code are available online.

Professionalism Commendation Reporting 

Any faculty, student, or staff may commend a medical student for exemplary professional behavior by completing and submitting the Medical Student Professionalism Commendation Form.

Professionalism Complaint Reporting 

There are two ways to report medical student professionalism complaints:

  1. Faculty, students, and staff may report any allegations of breaches of medical student professional conduct by completing and submitting the Medical Student Professionalism Complaint Reporting Form. Anonymous submissions of this form will not be possible.
  2. Faculty, students, and staff may report professionalism complaints directly to the Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs or the Director of House and Learning Communities. 

To report faculty professionalism complaints, complete and submit the following form:

Professionalism Complaint Investigating

All substantiated complaints will be investigated. All investigations will be confidential to the extent possible and investigative information will be protected during any follow-up investigative activities. Due process will be assured during any investigation of an allegation of professionalism lapse or misconduct. The School Professionalism Committee and Student Evaluation Promotion and Awards Committee may investigate professionalism complaints in Chicago Medical School. The Student Affairs Judiciary Committee may investigate university-level complaints of lapses in professionalism.

Professionalism Committee

The Professionalism Committee, composed of faculty appointed by the Dean of Chicago Medical School, monitors the learning environment for medical students and serves as an advisory committee to the Office of Faculty Affairs and Equity and the Office of Student Affairs. The committee’s primary role is professionalism education. This committee does not make decisions regarding dismissal and retention. It also promotes and develops the measures of excellence in professionalism in the academic learning environment.

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