Hit the Ground Running! Ethical Fitness Training at GSDM!

On Monday, October 25, Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine (GSDM) will, "Hit the Ground Running!" with a kick-off celebration for Ethical Fitness Training. Dean Jeffrey W. Hutter; Dr. Carl McManama, Chair of the Dean’s Council on Ethics and Professionalism (DCEP); and the members of the DCEP will host a luncheon celebration and explain what the DCEP has planned for each and every member of the GSDM community. This event will feature fun, food, gifts, raffle prizes, and a special appearance by a surprise guest! Each week leading up to the, "Hit the Ground Running!" event Outlook This Week will highlight one of the Core Values.

Our Code of Ethics articulates the behavior we expect of all members of our community–faculty, students, staff, researchers, and administration. The Code reflects our values and our day-to-day professional aspirations for carrying out our mission by caring for our patients, teaching, learning, conducting research, and interacting with our colleagues. Our core values and their associated behaviors emerged from a collaborative effort by all members of our community and they apply to us all.

This Code describes how we aspire to conduct ourselves—it is not a set of rules. Our Code of Student Conduct, which describes prohibited behavior and procedures for addressing prohibited behavior, is found in section two of Article V of the GSDM Bylaws. Similar documents related to staff and faculty are found in the Boston Medical Center Human Resources Manual and in the Boston University Faculty Handbook.

Our Code of Ethics was formed around our five core values. The first of these is respect.

Respect

We treat all people as we would expect them to treat us.

We acknowledge the dignity, humanity, and sense of self of everyone. We understand that our colleagues and patients come from varied cultural, social, and economic backgrounds. We treat everyone with the same degree of acceptance and deference. We adhere to the principle that everyone is continually learning and that we learn from each other. We are all colleagues in the process of teaching and learning. We listen to each other and avoid condescension. We maintain a collegial relationship with all members of the GSDM community

Many of us spend almost as much time at GSDM as we do at home and we respect our GSDM environment as if it were our home. We take pride in the appearance of our campus and report facilities issues rather than making it the responsibility of someone else. We understand that the way we appear and how we behave projects the image of the School. We are committed to carrying ourselves in a professional manner.

As faculty:

• We practice and demonstrate (role-model) interactions with patients that stress listening attentively, communicating clearly, understanding and solving patient problems, and always placing the welfare of the patient above personal interests.
• We accept and embrace cultural diversity, beliefs, different ways of thinking, and others’ priorities that are present among our patients, faculty, staff, and other students.
• We maintain and promote a safe environment that prevents harassment of any nature at all levels. We never abuse our authority.
• We value our staff members and expect our fellow faculty and students to treat them with respect and confidence as competent professionals.
• We treat intellectual property appropriately.
• We demonstrate respect for the facility and the environment by assuming personal ownership of our workplace.
• We “treat” or “care for” patients—we never “work on” patients.

As students:

• We demonstrate our commitment to professionalism in dentistry by respecting patient autonomy and recognizing that listening to patients and understanding their needs, by explaining clearly and thoroughly the treatment options and procedures, and by placing patient welfare above personal interests.
• We accept and embrace cultural diversity, beliefs, different ways of thinking, and others’ priorities that are present among our patients, faculty, staff, and other students.
• We treat the GSDM facility and the environment that we all share as if it were our own.
• We respect the contributions and work of others.
• We value all students, staff members, faculty, and administrators and expect our fellow students to treat them with respect and confidence.
• We “treat” or “care for” patients. We never “work on” patients.

As staff:

• We practice and demonstrate (role-model) interactions with patients that emphasize listening attentively, communicating clearly, and understanding patient problems, and always placing the welfare of the patient first.
• We recognize and accommodate patients’ special needs, including financial and communication challenges. We also recognize that many patients are fearful and unfamiliar with our processes. We strive to make them comfortable.
• We recognize that first-time students in the clinic may be awkward and fearful and we contribute to building their confidence in delivering efficient and effective treatment.
• We accept and embrace cultural diversity, beliefs, different ways of thinking, and others’ priorities that are present among our patients, faculty, students, and other staff members.
• For the good of our patients, we make sure that important information is conveyed properly to our colleagues.
• We treat the GSDM facility and the environment that we all share as if it were our own.
• We “treat” or “care for” patients—we never “work on” patients.

As researchers:

• We trust, value, collaborate with, and acknowledge the contributions of peers, students, technical staff, and research administrators with whom we interact.
• We are constructive and professional when critically evaluating people (students, staff, and peers) and written materials (grants, manuscripts, and abstracts), and will respect views differing from our own.
• We treat experimental subjects (human, animal, etc.) ethically with care and appreciation, and protect them from harm.
• We accept and embrace cultural diversity, beliefs, different ways of thinking, and others’ priorities that are present among our patients, faculty, staff, and other students.
• We treat the GSDM facility and the environment that we all share as if it were our own.

As administrators:

• We work toward a culture at GSDM in which interactions with patients include listening attentively, communicating clearly, understanding and resolving patient problems for the welfare of the patient, the instruction of students, and the good reputation of GSDM.
• We accept and embrace cultural diversity, beliefs, different ways of thinking, and others’ priorities that are present among our patients, faculty, staff, students and other administrators, and consciously model how to interact with others on our campus.
• We promote and maintain a safe environment that prevents harassment of any nature at all levels. We never abuse our authority or allow others to abuse theirs.
• We demonstrate respect for the facility and the environment by assuming personal ownership of our workplace.