Honor Council

Standards and Policies Governing Professional and Ethical Conduct

All members of the Baylor College of Medicine community are expected to adhere to the highest standards of professional and ethical behavior. The BCM School of Medicine Technical Standards establish certain behavioral and social attributes, as well as ethical standards and professionalism expectations for all medical students. Students must exercise good judgment and exhibit professionalism, personal accountability, compassion, integrity, concern for others, the ability to accept and apply feedback and to respect boundaries and care for all individuals in a respectfully regardless of gender identity, age, race, sexual orientation, religion, disability, or any other protected status. Students must understand and function within the legal and ethical framework of the practice of medicine and act morally, commensurate with the role of a physician in all interactions with patients, faculty, staff, fellow students, and the public.

In addition to the School of Medicine Technical Standards, several other policies govern the behavior of BCM community members, including medical students, such as:

• Student Appeals and Grievances
• Respectful & Professional Learning Environment Policy (login required)
• Standards for Student Conduct and College Oversight (23.2.01 – login required)
• Code of Conduct
• Compact Between Teachers, Learners and Educational Staff
• Social Media Policy (login required)
• Policy Regarding Harassment, Discrimination and Retaliation (login required)
• Sexual Misconduct and Other Prohibited Conduct Policy (login required)

These policies, along with the School of Medicine Honor Code, establish the types of attitudes and behaviors expected of students pursing the Doctor of Medicine degree.

The Baylor College of Medicine School of Medicine Honor Council works to maintain the highest standards of honesty and integrity in all academic matters. The Honor Council has jurisdiction to assist administration in enforcing the SOM Honor Code by investigating, reviewing, and presenting findings of fact to the Committee on Student Promotions and Academic Achievement after investigating accusations of academic misconduct based on dishonesty.

Examples of academic misconduct based on dishonesty that are within the jurisdiction of the Honor Council include, but are not limited to:

• Cheating
• Plagiarism or utilizing the work or ideas of other individuals without proper acknowledgement or permission
• Sabotaging the work or performance of other students or trainees
• Falsification of academic records
• Tolerating breaches of the Honor Code or academic misconduct performed by other students or trainees

The scope of practice of the Honor Council does not include offenses or accusations that comprise violations of federal, state or municipal law, since such issues should be handled by the proper authorities. However, to the extent that these violations also implicated the SOM Honor Code, the Honor Council will maintain jurisdiction for determining whether an Honor Code violation has also occurred. The Honor Council has the discretion to notify the appropriate BCM administrators and/or external agencies of any potential violations of the federal, state, or municipal law that the Council encounters in response to a complaint or during the course of an investigation. For further information regarding confidentiality practices in the context of legal violations, see Article V, Section 4 of the Honor Council Constitution.

The scope of practice of the Honor Council does not include issues of professionalism that do not constitute violations of the Honor Code. Issues of professionalism are with the scope of practice of the Student Professionalism Response and Intervention Team (SPRINT), the director of Medical Student Professionalism, and the Office of Student Affairs.

Attestation

“On my honor, as a member of the Baylor community, I have neither given nor received any unauthorized aid on this [assessment / assignment]”

Honor Code 

“I pledge to maintain a high level of respect and integrity as a student representing BCM. I understand and will uphold the Honor Code in letter and spirit to help our school advance authentic learning. I will not lie, cheat, plagiarize or be complicit with those who do. I will encourage fellow students to uphold these same values. I make this pledge in the spirit of honor and trust.”

Refer to the PDF of the Honor Council Constitution for easy reference to the following information: 

Article I: Duties and Scope of Practice

Article II: Structure and Organization

• Section 1: Composition
• Section 2: Eligibility
• Section 3: Application and Election Process for Student Members
• Section 4: Removal and Replacement of Student Members
• Section 5: Leadership Roles Within the Honor Council

Article III: Incident Reporting

Article IV: Process of Incident Investigation

• Section 1: Fact finding
• Section 2: Preliminary review
• Section 3: Formal hearing
• Section 4: Documentation
• Section 5: Recusal
• Section 6: Appeal

Article V: Confidentiality and Accountability

• Section 1: Confidentiality of Investigation
• Section 2: Anonymity of Incident Reports
• Section 3: Confidentiality of Other Witnesses

Article VI: Annual Report

Article VII: Constitutional Review

Article VIII: Constitutional Amendments