Professional Integrity and the Role of Medical Students in Professional Self-Regulation

Percival in turn was a major influence on the first (1847) Code of Ethics of the American Medical Association [1]. [6] presented results of a survey of fourth year medical students’ attitudes toward peer accountability from 24 medical schools (81 % response rate). Illustrative examples of problematic behaviors include a failure to disclose medical errors, cheating in medical school, boundary violations including sexual boundary violations, unprofessional behavior of other student residents and attending faculty, improperly disclosing patient information, posting confidential information on social media, and making derogatory remarks about patients, peers, and supervisors, and withstanding derogatory or demeaning comments directed to medical students by a clinician or educator. In addition the joint commission and some state departments of health require hospitals to report serious mishaps [17].