Student Involvement & Responsibilities
Student Evaluation
of the Curriculum and Teachers
The UM Medical School asks all medical students to evaluate their educational
experiences throughout all four years of medical school. Evaluation information,
which is shared with the teachers, course directors, and curriculum leaders,
is used to change and improve the educational program.
Input from students
through evaluations has led to the following changes in recent years:
• a third-year
Family Medicine clerkship,
• increased small group teaching,
• increased interactions and periodic meetings between the Component
Directors and specific student groups,
• a revised examination calendar in Component II, to better fit with
student schedules,
• alternative approaches to evaluation such as weekend take-home
quizzes, student representation on the Introduction to the Patient committee.
Medical
Student Representation on Committees
Medical students at the UM Medical School are invited and elected to participate
in committees and organizations charged with varied and important responsibilities.
Following are just a few of these groups:
Admissions Committee:
The Admissions Committee is composed of over 70 Medical School faculty
and students who participate in the evaluation of applicants to the UM
Medical School. There are nine class representatives on the committee:
three M2s, three M3s and three M4s. Each year three new M2s are chosen
on the basis of an essay and an interview; the length of term is three
years. Additional students are chosen each year to represent minority
student organizations, and they also serve three-year terms. The students
and faculty participate equally in interviewing applicants and voting
on applicant status.
Class Advocates:
The Medical School Student Council is composed of five class advocates
from each of the Medical School classes who are elected by their classmates.
Class Advocates are responsible for providing communication and problem
resolution between their classmates and the School's administration (see
also Medical School Student Council under Student Organizations).
Honor Council:
Honor Council representatives are students elected by their classmates
on the basis of personal integrity and ethical values. Two members from
each class serve on the Honor Council, which often conducts the first
(and sometimes only) level of investigation into allegations of unprofessional
behavior, including cheating. In these cases, the Honor Council works
closely with the Associate Dean for Student Programs.
Academic Review
Boards: The Component, Course, and Clerkship Directors comprise the
Academic Review Boards (ARB). The Boards review and take actions related
to student progress in the curriculum. There are two ARBs, one in the
basic science phase and one in the clinical phase. Four students who are
Honor Council members serve on the Basic Science ARB, and four students
who are Honor Council members serve on the Clinical ARB.
Component Committees:
The Component I Committee is composed of the Course Directors of each
basic science course, and the Component II Committee is composed of the
Sequence Coordinators of each of the second-year sequences. Each committee
has two student representatives. Discussions focus on curriculum content
and quiz and exam schedules. The Component III/IV Committee is composed
of the Directors of the clinical clerkships and two student representatives
each from the M3 and M4 classes (four total). Discussion focuses on issues
of concern to medical students in clinical rotations such as evaluation
of students, clerkship requirements, call schedules, and the clinical
phase calendar.
Introduction to
the Patient (ITTP) Committee: The first- and second-year classes each
elect a representative to serve as a student advisor to the ITTP Course
Director. The course was introduced with the new curriculum in 1992, and
student input regarding improving the course and further integrating its
topics with the pre-clinical curriculum is welcome.
Curriculum Policy
Committee: The Curriculum Policy Committee is the highest-level curriculum
committee in the Medical School and is responsible for setting curriculum
policy. Each class elects one student to serve as a Curriculum Policy
Committee representative (four total).
The
Honor System
Students at the UM Medical School abide by an Honor Code, which all students
sign before the first day of classes. The Honor Code was developed by
students and faculty and has been revised, refined and passed from generation
to generation to its present form:
As a member of the
University of Michigan Medical School community I will:
a. Strive to develop
medical knowledge and skills to the best of my ability.
b. Demonstrate the
highest standards of honesty and personal integrity, since these attributes
are fundamental and essential to the medical profession.
c. Behave in a responsible
and respectful manner toward patients, faculty, colleagues, health care
workers and all others.
d. Address actions
or practices on the part of a colleague that breach the principles of
honor and integrity. If I am concerned with another student's behavior,
I am bound by this code to contact the Honor Council or the Associate
Dean for Student Programs.
As mature adults
and future physicians, students assume responsibility for ensuring that
their own conduct and that of their colleagues meets the high standards
as set forth in the Honor Code. Violations can be reported to the Honor
Council, which is composed of students elected by their classmates on
the basis of personal integrity and ethical values. When investigating
allegations of cheating, the Honor Council works closely with the Associate
Dean for Student Programs. Allegations of cheating or unprofessional behavior
can also be reported directly to an Associate Dean or to the Academic
Review Board. Following review of the allegation, and particularly in
cases where unprofessional behavior is alleged, a Hearing Committee can
be convened to investigate the allegation and to recommend action as appropriate.
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