With the 3rd year comes the awareness that we have many new responsibilities. Our past experiences coupled with the first two years of medical school have provided us with the capabilities to uphold these additional standards.

We have many responsibilities to uphold for now and ever after:

To professionalism, to patient care, to education in both learning and teaching, to the future of medicine, to the art, to community, to colleagues, to self, to morals, ethics, principles, to cultural awareness, to our families, to our personal beliefs, to Life and all it has to offer.

It is a true privilege to practice and learn the skills of medicine in the intimate setting of a patient's bedside. With our duties as 3rd year medical students comes considerable responsibility to perform with the intention to always help those who place themselves in our care and never to abuse our position. Our behaviors will always be honorable, thoughtful, and reflect our ability to improve the quality of life for our patients and their families:

1. I will set patient care as my highest priority and recognize that such caring requires my being available, giving my time generously, communicating honestly with the patient and the patient's loved ones.

2. I will respect patient autonomy and always strive to maintain patient dignity.

3. I will hold sacred the bond between doctor and patient and regard confidentiality as a central obligation of patient care.

4. I will assist my patients to make informed decisions that coincide with their own values and beliefs.

5. I will care for patients with humility, honesty, and compassion.

6. I will attempt no treatment which evidently requires training and skill superior to mine nor intentionally do anything to the overall harm of my patients.

As future physicians, we have a responsibility to our patients, our colleagues, ourselves and the future of medicine to always make education part of our practice. Medicine has evolved and will continue to grow and change through research and education. In addition, our patients rely on us to be up to date and informed in order to provide them with the best care. As physicians, we need to be able to teach our patients about their health, as well as their illnesses. We need to promote well-being of body and mind, and by being effective teachers, we ensure successful communication and dissemination of information to our patients.

1. I will communicate clearly, effectively, and compassionately to my patients in order to educate them on disease prevention, health maintenance, physical and mental well-being

2. I will be educated in my field of work but I will request assistance from colleagues when I don’t know an answer, in order to best serve my patients

3. I will continue my education and help educate health care team members through seminars, conferences, lectures and inservices

4. I will reach out to my community by offering my time, knowledge, support and participation in research, in order to help make discoveries as well as improve on current practices

Cultural Awareness

In order to care for and work with people across cultures, to respect all persons regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or social standing and to maintain diversity among our organizations, we must understand our own as well as other’s cultural values. We must be sensitive to potential conflicts in values and strive for cultural awareness.

1. I will continually assess my own cultural biases as well as those of the medical culture and realize the influence they have on my behavior.

2. I will not discount patients’ ideas of health maintenance, cause of illness, or treatment that differ from my own.

3. I will strive to maintain awareness of other cultures, dedicating myself to the pursuit of a greater understanding of perspectives different from my own.

Community

As future physicians, we have a responsibility to give back to the community and to do our best to enrich the lives of those around us. Our families, friends, and professors quickly come to mind as people who influence our everyday lives. Above and beyond those close to us, our interactions with the community continually have a huge impact on our training as physicians. Think back to all the people within the hospital and out in the community who took the time to teach you and influenced your outlook on life and the world of medicine. We must thank everyone who has given us the resources to become compassionate physicians by giving back to our communities.

1. I will share my knowledge and my talents, and work to inspire others.

2. I will accept my responsibility to assist those in our community who are in need, and to help acquire health care for those who are unable to obtain it on their own.

3. I will set a good example by lending my mind, ear, and shoulder to those who are troubled.

4. I will use my skills as a physician to help improve the quality of life where we work and live.

Professionalism

Professionalism is embodied by an ideal set of qualities demanded by a work commitment involving highly specific knowledge and skills. In medicine, professional values are associated with good physicians and make medicine a time-honored and noble career. By illness or circumstance, patients finding themselves in a most vulnerable position trust us to place their concerns ahead of our own interests. As medical professionals, it is our obligation to prove ourselves worthy of this trust by our conduct.

1. I will serve the interests and welfare of my patients and my community above my own.

2. I will not hold myself to be more qualified or capable than I am.

3. I will extend mutual respect to my colleagues, peers, and teachers.

4. I will conduct myself with discipline in all health care settings, being mindful of appropriate language, demeanor, and presentation.

5. I will practice the highest level of ethics in my roles as apprentice and caregiver.

6. I will remain humble, though my responsibilities and commitment are great.

7. I will maintain my integrity by upholding these professional virtues.

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