THE NEW ZEALAND MEDICAL JOURNAL        NZMJ 16 July 2010, Vol 123 No 1318; ISSN 1175 8716 Page 43 URL: http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/123-1318/4216/ ©NZMA The student code: ethical and professional expectations of medical students at the University of Otago Lynley C Anderson, Neil J Pickering Abstract Medical students at the University of Otago are now required to sign a ‘student code’ on beginning medical school. This new requirement has been put in place in response to changes to the medical curriculum that have resulted in earlier and increased contact with patients, healthcare staff and the general public, and in order to recognise and formalise the students’ own learning needs. While a student code can most obviously be useful for disciplinary and assessment purposes, the authors make a claim for the code to be used as educational tool to assist students to internalise their obligations to others. The student code, while having common values espoused in other extant codes, is framed with the student experience in mind. The authors discuss the process of development, implementation and proposed review. In this article we describe a code of ethics developed for medical students at the University of Otago and stake a claim for its importance as an educational tool. Medical students do not have the standard university student experience. Unsurprisingly medical students see and do many things that are uncommon for other groups of students on a university campus. The most obvious activity that springs to mind is the dissection of cadavers, but that is just a small element of the differences. As medical students progress through their training, they will have increasing interaction with patients. They will talk to and have access to patients’ personal stories; they will examine the bodies of patients, and bear witness to significant events in patients’ lives including birth, death, and the consequence of illness and injury. 1 The unique level of access medical students have into the lives of others needs to be acknowledged and some consideration given to standards the medical school and the public expect of students in this role. Because of this unusual student experience, medical students have always been asked to sign forms giving undertakings which it would be unnecessary for many other students to give. For example, historically, medical students on first arrival at medical school signed a confidentiality and consent agreement. But such undertakings were not much used educationally—they were more administrative, and were often signed along with other similar forms. Anecdotally, when asked later if they could remember having signed the confidentiality and consent agreement, few could (even when shown the form again). Students are also expected to sign yet another document rather clumsily entitled ‘Code of Practice for Fitness to Practise’ (CPFP). This document is written as part of a memorandum of understanding between the Medical Council of New Zealand (MCNZ) and each training institution.