Inaugural CMED class constructs oath outlining goals, responsibilities
The inaugural class of the Central Michigan University's College of Medicine have created a student oath. The oath includes responsibilities and goals set forth by these students for both their education and careers.
The students presented the oath, created entirely by the class and of their own volition, to the CMED Deans Executive Committee. The only changes to the oath the committee made were small, suggested revisions, said Jim Knight, director of marketing and communications for CMED.
Among the many ethical and moral obligations the students aim to uphold, the oath focuses on honesty and truthfulness, civil service and social responsibility, privacy and innovation when working with patients.
Madeline Palmer, a CMED student from Detroit, was part of the student committee who collaborated to create the oath. Palmer said it was important to the class to have an oath like this for current and future students.
"Being the inaugural class, we wanted to clearly set our goals and mission for the class during our time at CMED and in our careers as we move forward," she said. "We have set a high standard for ourselves and we wanted to put that down on paper, so as we move forward, we have that to go back to."
The Oath Committee, Palmer added, consists of one member from each of the eight student groups comprising CMED's student body. A student from each group acted as a representative on the committee.
"I think we worked really well together and it was really collaborative," Palmer said. "We took the values of CMED and tried to interpret them for what they meant to us as students and future positions. I thought that my classmates did a really good job of making it both personal for our class, and relevant to our careers."
Knight said the oath is a great addition to the mission of the college. He said the collaboration of the students to put the oath together was impressive.
"These are the words they really feel," Knight said. "This is something that is from them, nothing that anybody is handing to them."
Knight said CMED plans on having current and prospective students sign the oath and post copies in the main CMED building.
