Purpose

This Honor Code is predicated upon the premise that students, as developing professionals, will foster professional maturity and integrity through a system of self-governance. It is expected that by signing this Code, students will exhibit and demonstrate the moral standards that are the cornerstone of the academic community, the greater society, and the profession.

Presumptions

1. The Honor Code is primarily an undertaking of the students, individually and collectively, to define standards of conduct while in a professional program.
2. Cooperation exists between students and faculty to share responsibility for modeling and maintaining academic honesty, integrity, and professional behavior.
3. The Honor Code embodies the concept of personal honor in the framework of a covenant pledge and is aligned with Creighton University’s Code of Conduct and the School of Pharmacy and Health Professions’ Misconduct Policy.
4. The School is committed to students’ professionalism as evidenced by having students abide by the Honor Code and their specific professional association’s Code of Ethics.
5. The Honor Code creates an environment where academic dishonesty is socially and professionally unacceptable, where institutional expectations are clearly understood, and where students assist their peers.
6. Students are obligated to take action in the event they learn that a fellow student has violated the code. The student can take action by asking the violator to refrain from the behavior and/or to report him/herself and/or the student can report the behavior to designated student, faculty, or administrative representatives.

Principles and Duties

1. Fidelity/Honesty/Truthfulness: The student maintains high standards of academic and professional honesty and integrity.
   1. The student exhibits honesty during academic and clinical communications and evaluations.
   2. The student refuses to provide unfair advantage by assisting another student during an academic or clinical evaluation in a manner not prescribed by the instructor.
   3. The student refuses to alter, forge, falsify or fabricate information, documentation, or service.
   4. The student maintains confidentiality of patient information.
   5. The student strives to attain high levels of competence, admit errors, and not knowingly mislead others or promote oneself at the expense of others.
2. Responsibility and Sense of Duty: The student fulfills duties and obligations of the profession which are expected by the public.
   1. The student becomes familiar with and adheres to his or her specific professional association’s Code of Ethics.
   2. The student’s responsibility parallels the responsibility of professional practitioners who maintain high professional standards by monitoring the conduct of their peers.
   3. The student is dedicated to helping patients, colleagues, the profession, and society reach their maximal potential.
   4. The student maintains quality of care while addressing conflicts of interest.
   5. The student engages in conduct that reflects positively on the School and profession.
3. Justice and Respect for the Rights of Others: The student respects the rights, privileges, and property of other members of the academic and clinical community.
   1. The student deals with faculty, staff, peers, and patients in a dignified, considerate manner and with a spirit of cooperation.
   2. The student is respectful towards the learning process.
   3. The student views and treats all people encountered in an academic or clinical capacity equally with regard to liberties, rights, respect, acceptance and opportunities.
   4. The student submits his or her own original work in a manner prescribed by the instructor and with the expectation that the grade reflects only that student’s achievement.
   5. The student respects the ideas and words of others by attributing the quoted or paraphrased portions to their original sources.
   6. The student strives to uphold the dignity and respect of his or her profession by his or her dress, personal appearance, conduct and conversation.

The student signs a pledge annually, acknowledging that s(he) has read the Honor Code, understands its principles and agrees to abide by and support them.  The student on an advanced clinical practice experience continues to abide by the last pledge signed.