2021 - 2022 COM Student Handbook

Dr. Kiran C. Patel College of Osteopathic Medicine (KPCOM) 2021–2022 100 Honor and integrity are essential and depend on the exemplary behavior of the individual in his or her relations with classmates, patients, faculty members, and colleagues. This includes accountability to oneself and to relationships with fellow students, future colleagues, faculty members, and patients who come under the student’s care or contribute to his or her training and growth, as well as members of the general public. This applies to personal conduct that reflects on the student’s honesty and integrity in both academic and nonacademic settings, whether or not involving an NSU-sponsored activity. All students must have the capacity to manage their lives and anticipate their own needs. Upon accepting admission to KPCOM, each student subscribes to, and pledges, complete observance to NSU’s Student Code of Conduct Policies. A violation of these standards is an abuse of the trust placed in every student and could lead to suspension or dismissal. Students in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree program must have, with or without reasonable accommodation, multiple abilities and skills including intellectual, conceptual, integrative, and quantitative abilities; interpersonal communication; mobility and strength; motor skills; and hearing, visual, tactile, behavioral, and social attributes. Students must be able to perform these abilities and skills in a reasonably independent manner. Osteopathic physicians must have the knowledge and skills to function in a broad variety of clinical situations and to render a wide spectrum of patient care. To carry out the activities described below, students in the Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine Program at KPCOM must be able to integrate consistently, quickly, and accurately all information received, and they must have the ability to learn, integrate, analyze, and synthesize data. Intellectual, Conceptual, Integrative, and Qualitative Abilities Students must have critical thinking abilities sufficient for problem-solving and good clinical judgment. This is necessary to identify cause/effect relationships and to develop plans of action or plans of care. In addition, students should be able to comprehend three-dimensional relationships and to understand the spatial relationships of structures. Students are expected to be able to perform multiple tasks in a diverse, dynamic, highly competitive, and challenging learning environment. They must be able to think quickly and accurately in an organized manner, despite environmental distractions. Examples include, and are not limited to, identification of cause/effect relationships in clinical situations, development of treatment plans, transferring knowledge from one situation to another, evaluating outcomes, problem- solving, prioritizing, and using short- and long-term memory. Interpersonal Communication Students must be able to interact and communicate effectively with respect to policies, protocols, and process, with faculty, students, staff, patients, patient surrogates, and administration during the student’s educational program. They must be able to communicate effectively and sensitively with patients. Communication includes not only speech, but also reading and writing. Students must also be able to communicate effectively and efficiently in all written forms with all members of the health care team. They must have interpersonal abilities sufficient to interact with individuals, families, and groups from a variety of social, emotional, cultural, and intellectual backgrounds. Students must have sufficient proficiency with English to retrieve information from texts and lectures and communicate concepts on written exams and patient charts; elicit patient backgrounds; describe patient changes in moods, activity, and posture; and coordinate patient care with all members of the health care team. Students must be able to communicate or provide communication in lay language