Introduction

This Student Policy Guide has been prepared by the Office of Student Affairs/Admissions, School of Medicine. The School of Medicine reserves the right to change these and other policies at any time. Final interpretation of these policies remains with the School of Medicine. Every effort is made to keep the web version of these policies updated. All students will be notified per e-mail of any changes to the Student Policy Guide.

As a student of Wright State University, you are subject to the rules and regulations governing all students on campus. These rules and regulations are detailed in the Wright State University Student Handbook.

E-Mail Policy

All entering students are assigned an e-mail address by the university. This address is used by the university to communicate with the students, and all students are required to check this address and read their mail. Official communications will be sent to this address, and students are responsible for the contents of said messages.

You can check this e-mail address in several different ways. You can configure your e-mail client, such as Outlook Express or Netscape, to check your account. Also, you can check this account from any web browser anywhere in the world by connecting to: https://mail.wright.edu/ or http://wings.wright.edu/.

Mission and Philosophy

Our ultimate goal is to provide you with a solid foundation in medicine and an opportunity for success and fulfillment as a physician. During your four years with us, our goal is to strengthen your commitment and ability to serve the medical community nobly; deliver caring, compassionate medical service; and continually expand your base of knowledge — in whatever medical specialty you pursue.

WSU Boonshoft SOM was established in 1973 to help meet the needs of Ohio citizens for high-quality trained generalists. In 1976, the first class entered the School of Medicine. By 1980 the School of Medicine achieved full accreditation from the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME). The LCME is the accrediting body for U.S. and Canadian medical schools. Our School of Medicine has continuously maintained its accreditation and is one of the nation's leading community-based schools.

The following commitments, taken directly from our mission, continue to set a clear course for our School of Medicine:

• To conduct an accredited program of medical student education;
  
• To expand knowledge through creative scholarly activities;
  
• To foster habits of lifelong learning;
  
• To recruit students from groups that are underrepresented in the profession; and
  
• To utilize the community's abundant medical resources for teaching sites and as faculty.

Diversity

The School of Medicine promotes an environment in which all persons are free to make their contributions. All students are protected from prejudgment, intimidation, and/or discrimination. All individuals — regardless of race, color, religious beliefs, national origin, gender, age, ability, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status — are accepted and appreciated for their individuality and contributions to the diversity and functions of the school.

Professionalism

The school expects students to behave in an exemplary and professional manner. Following are those professional attributes and core values that should be present in the learning environment and manifested by students.

Compassion
Compassion is an attitude desirable in all professional relationships. It is especially important in the doctor/patient relationship. Students develop compassion by learning empathic skills that allow them to sense the patient's experience with illness, including suffering and fear, and discovering how to respond in a humane and supportive way.

Commitment to Excellence
Excellence entails a conscientious effort to exceed ordinary expectations. Excellence in the performance of one's medical career is the goal toward which all medical education is directed. Intellectual curiosity, enthusiasm for life-long learning, and desire to master necessary skills and knowledge are qualities that promote a commitment excellence.

Accountability
Physicians and students are accountable to their individual patients for fulfilling the obligations implicit in the fiduciary and contractual nature of the physician/patient relationship. They are also accountable to society for addressing the health needs of the public. Physicians and students also have accountability to the medical profession for upholding medicine's reputation for time honored ethical precepts. Faculty and students are accountable to one another for maintaining a positive, collegial learning environment where respect for knowledge and one another are valued. Accountability is an attitude that involves insight into one's own behavior and a willingness to accept constructive criticism.

Integrity
Integrity involves a consistent commitment to maintain the highest standards of behavior and refusal to violate personal and professional codes. Physicians and students manifest integrity through their honesty, forthrightness, consistency, dependability, conscientiousness, and trustworthiness.

Prudence
Properly understood, prudence means the ability to discipline oneself by the use of reason. Physicians and students are expected to exercise judgments about the connection of means with ends, flexibility and adaptability in dealing with complex and ambiguous situations, and the equanimity to perform effectively in the face of stressful and even frightening circumstances.

Respect
Respect for others is at the very core of the ethics of the medical profession. It is because of their respect for their patients that physicians and students honor decisions of their patients, protect patient privacy, maintain confidentiality, and avoid sexual misconduct.
Respect for medical colleagues and all co-workers is a central professional value, important for its own sake and because it promotes better patient care. Regard for the dignity of others is at the root of the professional qualities of courtesy which involves general qualities (such as a respectful tone in communication and appropriate professional attire and demeanor) and specific actions (such as concern for punctuality). Mutual respect between faculty and students is essential in establishing a positive learning environment. Respect for oneself is a precondition to genuine respect for others.

Humility
Humility may derive from an acknowledgement that one is not totally "self-created" and that the capacity to treat patients and to teach others depends in no small measure on what one has been given by others. It entails a recognition of the limits of one's own knowledge and the limits of medicine itself, and it promotes the healthy self-criticism that is essential in the quest for excellence. Humility means the lack of preoccupation with self. A humble physician or student will be approachable rather than aloof and will display openness rather than superiority.

Accepting of Diversity
Respect for others implies an acceptance of people as they are, with all their diversity. At Wright State University School of Medicine this theme is considered so important that it deserves special note and must be characteristic of faculty and students. A non-judgmental attitude and cultural sensitivity are essential in both the doctor/patient relationship and collegial relationships. The ability to put aside differences for common goals is crucial to professionalism.

Altruism
Altruism is a central and essential professional trait for physicians and students. Altruism in the service of patients means being an advocate for the patient and putting the well being of the patient ahead of one's own interests and beliefs. Greed, defined as inappropriate aspiration for fame, power, or money, is antithetical to altruism.

Social Responsibility
Beyond their responsibility to their patients individually, physicians and medical students have an obligation to improve the community, especially as it relates to concern for social factors that threaten public health.

Educational Objectives
	Knowledge and Lifelong Learning The graduate will demonstrate knowledge of the basic medical sciences, clinical skills and the ability to acquire, manage, and use current information for clinical decision-making and problem-solving in the care of individual patients, family members, populations, and systems of care delivery. The graduate will demonstrate knowledge of the ethical, social, economic, and cultural influences upon the health of and health care delivery to patients and patient populations, and will be able to propose realistic approaches to improving the health of an individual patient and for a patient population. The graduate will be able to identify the diverse factors that influence the health of the individual and the community; identify the socio-cultural, familial, psychological, economic, environmental, legal, political and spiritual factors impacting health care and health care delivery, and be able to respond to these factors by planning and advocating the appropriate course of action at both the individual and the community level.
	Interpersonal and Communication The graduate will demonstrate the ability to establish a professional relationship with a patient, build a comprehensive medical and social/personal history, conduct either a focused or comprehensive physical examination as indicated, construct a differential diagnosis, and recommend a course of treatment consistent with current standards of care. The graduate will demonstrate the ability to communicate (written & oral) clearly, professionally, and effectively with patients, their family members, health care team members, and peers. The graduate will demonstrate the capacity to listen to and respond appropriately to constructive feedback from peers and teachers, as well as give constructive feedback and evaluation to peers and faculty as requested.
	Professionalism, Advocacy and Personal Growth The graduate will be able to identify personal strengths and weaknesses in the care of patients and working with colleagues and allied health professionals, and if indicated, demonstrate the ability to make changes in behavior that facilitate collaborative relationships. The graduate will demonstrate through the period of undergraduate medical education a pattern of responsible behaviors consistent with the highest ethical standards of the profession: honesty, confidentiality, reliability, dependability, civility, and punctuality. The graduate will demonstrate a commitment to leadership and the advancement of new knowledge.

Approved by the Faculty on January 19, 2006