Policies & Procedures
Creating a professional environment
Dalhousie Medical School is committed to creating an environment that is optimal for learning, teaching, conducting research and providing clinical care. To achieve and sustain this, Dalhousie Medical School expects students, residents, faculty, administration and staff to display professionalism, individually and collectively, in all their interactions with each other, with patients and families/significant others, with colleagues in other professions, and with members of the public when acting under the auspices of Dalhousie University.
Physicians and scientists have privileged positions in society. Professionalism is central to the ethos of both the practice of medicine and conduct of research and an expression of our commitment to patients and society.
The following principles of professionalism and examples given below are not intended to be exhaustive. They are articulated and described to guide us in our actions and interactions with others.
This policy is intended to complement Canadian law, policies, guidelines and codes of conduct established for the profession of medicine, and other policies, regulations and ethical standards that govern students, residents, faculty and staff of Dalhousie University, the Faculty of Medicine, the Undergraduate Medical Education program and all Postgraduate (Residency Training) Medical Education programs.
For reference, these documents and resources include but are not limited to the following:
- Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada CanMeds Physician Competency Framework
- College of Family Physicians of Canada Four Principles of Family Medicine
- College of Physicians and Surgeons of Nova Scotia Policies and Guidelines
- Canadian Medical Association Code of Ethics & Professionalism
- Dalhousie University Student Code of Conduct, Policy on Scholarly Integrity, and other relevant Dalhousie University policies (Dalhousie University's Senate policy repository)
- Dalhousie University Office of the Vice-Provost, Equity & Inclusion
- On Being a Scientist: Responsible Conduct in Research
- Teaching the Responsible Conduct of Research in Humans (RCRH)
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