Hit the Ground Running! Counting Down to Ethical Fitness Training Kick-off!

Next 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, and exciting raffle prizes!

Four weeks ago we began highlighting GSDM’s Core Values in Outlook This Week. If you’d like to review the Core Values at any time, please refer to the new permanent signs that have been installed throughout the Dental School or pick up a Code of Ethics brochure, which will be available at the "Hit the Ground Running!" event.

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.

Compassion

We exercise understanding and empathy toward our patients and colleagues.

As administrators, faculty, staff, and student body, we care for the School as an institution and for each of our colleagues and patients as individuals.

As faculty,

  • We serve as role models for compassion in our dealings with all patients.  
  • We remember what it was like being a dental student. We understand that the road toward competence and proficiency is a work in progress and strive to support our students through their struggles.
  • We work cooperatively with students to solve problems.
  • We strive to understand all sides of a story. 
  • We understand that there may be external factors affecting the performance of others.
  • We understand that being compassionate toward everyone creates a positive environment for all of us.

As students,

  • We appreciate that patients may be fearful and may have difficulty understanding the information we provide. They may also have difficulty responding to our questions and statements. We listen carefully and patiently, seeking to empathize with them and to provide reassurance.
  • We acknowledge that professional dental education can create a stressful environment for students, faculty, administrators, and staff.  In our interactions, we understand that there may be external factors affecting the performance of others.
  • We work cooperatively to achieve our success, without undercutting others.
  • We understand that being compassionate toward everyone creates a positive environment for all of us.
  • We uphold the standards of compassion that the privilege of the profession entails. “Our knowledge is not just for ourselves and should be shared with the community.”

As staff,

  • We make patients confident that we care for them, by listening carefully, responding appropriately, and providing for their physical and emotional comfort. We strive to be friendly and accessible to everyone.
  • We understand that being compassionate toward everyone creates a positive environment for all of us.

As researchers,

  • We appreciate and respect the people with whom we work and acknowledge them as human beings, not just work colleagues or employees.
  • We understand when students, staff, or peers have personal issues which may affect their responsibilities to us.
  • We treat experimental subjects (human, animal, etc.) ethically with care and appreciation, and protect them from harm.
  • We understand that being compassionate toward everyone creates a positive environment for all of us.

As administrators,

  • We foster an environment in the GSDM community which is safe and supportive for patients, students, and employees.
  • We are accessible and show concern and care when called upon.
  • We model compassion for others beyond self-interest.
  • We are proactive in our concern for others in need.

Share this: