Honor Code

You may download the complete VUSM Honor Code here. This Honor Code was written by students on the Honor Council. Below are the first paragraphs of the code.

Honor System

The Honor System at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is conducted by students for the benefit of students, faculty, staff, and patients. The Honor System, as delineated by the Honor Code, requires students to conduct themselves with honor in all aspects of their lives as physicians-in-training. By demanding great responsibility, the Honor System fosters an environment of freedom and trust that benefits the entire Medical School. In signing this statement upon enrollment, each student agrees to participate in the Honor System and abide by its code.

As representatives of the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine and the medical profession, students pledge to conduct themselves with honor and integrity at all times. Both the Promotions Committees and Honor Council serve to protect the environment of trust created by this Honor System. The Promotions Committees periodically evaluate each student's performance with special attention to work and conduct appropriate for the practice of medicine. The Honor Council serves to educate the student body about their responsibilities outlined in the written code; to conduct investigations and hearings regarding reported violations of the code; and to decide the nature of penalties deemed appropriate for such violations. Decisions reached by the Honor Council do not preclude the discussion of reported violations by the Promotions Committee, as the Committee may examine these incidents in the larger context of a student's general performance.

The Honor Code

All students pledge to conduct themselves honorably, professionally, and respectfully in all realms of the medical center and in all aspects of medical education and patient care. Under the Honor System, the student pledges that he or she neither gives nor receives unauthorized aid nor leaves unreported any knowledge of such aid given or received by any other student. Unauthorized aid includes the use of any examinations from previous semesters that have not been pre-approved by the course director and made readily available to all other students taking the course. This pledge applies to all coursework, examinations, presentations, or any other activities required for the awarding of the M.D. degree. This pledge encompasses all clinical work involving patient care and representations of patient care information. Any student taking a course in the School of Medicine, regardless of where registered, is under the jurisdiction of the Honor Council of Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) and subject to the penalties it may impose.

The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine is accredited by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME).