10.2. Professional Conduct Criteria
Professional conduct and development will be discussed during advisor-advisee meetings each semester to facilitate understanding of definitions and expectations.
Professional conduct is expected of all students during program-related activities as well as when students are representing the Program and the Institute. Professional conduct is also expected and assessed as part of all practical exams and clinical experiences.
Professional Conduct is defined by the following criteria:
Responsibility
Students demonstrate responsibility by:
- Arriving to class, appointments, clerkships, and meetings on time
- Turning in assignments on time
- Knowing and abiding by policies and procedures at the Institute and its facilities, the PA Program and in clinical settings
Communication
Students demonstrate professional communication by:
- Speaking in a way that demonstrates respect for others including classmates, faculty, staff, supervising clinicians, patients and their families, other health professionals and students
- Demonstrate attentiveness and respect when others are speaking
- Present and discuss one’s own views in a way that demonstrates respect for those with opposing viewpoints
- Emails should be composed with a salutation and a signature.
- General Email Etiquette
- Each student will receive an Institute email address which will be the primary mechanism for communication between faculty, staff, and students and for all Institute communication. The Institute address will be the only email address used by faculty and administration to communicate with the student.
- Always address an email with an appropriate salutation (“Dear Professor Jones”, “Greetings Susan”).
- Sentences should be complete and appropriate grammar should be used and always sign your emails.
- Be judicious when CC’ing emails. “Reply to all,” is not always an appropriate action.
- It is your responsibility to check your school-related emails daily and respond as needed depending on the topic. If a faculty or staff member emails you, it is expected that you respond to them within 48 hours. It is fair to expect faculty and staff to respond to your emails in a timely fashion as well, within normal business hours. Do not expect answers to emails from faculty and staff late at night or on weekends. Please understand email is not necessarily designed to provide unrestricted 24/7 access to the recipient.
- If you choose to craft an email about a subject you disagree with or are upset about, either as an original email or in response to an email from someone else, do not respond when you are angry or upset. This will often result in an email that is unprofessional and emotional. Instead, consider what you wish to say, write it out, do not send it, and then return to it when you are less emotional. All emails you choose to send should be professional, appropriate, and polite at all times. In addition, anything you choose to say in an email you should feel comfortable and willing to say to an individual or group in a face-to-face meeting
Integrity
Students demonstrate integrity in all learning and clinical environments by:
- Adhering to Institute and PA Program rules, regulations, policies, and ethical conduct
- Address violations of academic integrity, unethical behavior, improper care of patients with PA Program staff or faculty
- Accept and respond to critical feedback in a constructive way
- Respect differences in culture, race, religion, gender identity and disability
Collaboration
Students demonstrate professional collaboration by:
- Working and contributing effectively with others in a way that helps to achieve goals and objectives