| Email Etiquette for Mount
Sinai School of Medicine Medical Students 2002
Email Use at MSSM
Email is provided to Mount Sinai School of Medicine students as a professional/academic
resource. Communications regarding scholastic activities remain the
main purpose of issuing student email accounts. Incidental/personal
use of the email system is permitted so long as this communications
does not violate school policy. Mount Sinai School of Medicine reserves
the right to revoke email privileges from individuals not adhering to
the policy and to discipline such individuals in accordance with disciplinary
guidelines. Below are guidelines for the student use of email accounts,
issued by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine.
Recommendations
The use of email should be congruent with the morality which is part
of every day life. There are general rules that members of society follow.
These rules apply to all facets of life, and this includes the use of
email. For example, the idea that individuals should treat others in
a manner they themselves would like to be treated applies to the use
of email. An additional code governs the behavior of medical professionals.
The two main professional requirements are caring and respect. These
principles certainly govern the treatment of patients, but they also
apply to interaction with colleagues and others within the professional
community. An email policy for Mount Sinai students must reflect and
awareness of professional responsibility.
- Be polite. This is the first rule because following
it will avoid most problems. It encompasses treating others in a manner
your would like to be treated. Think about the effect your email can
have on others. As a medical student it is imperative that you are
respectful to others and that you show concern for how your behavior
might affect them. This includes respect for those who you are emailing.
- Secure your username and password - Students are
responsible to maintain the security of usernames and passwords. It
is recommended that passwords be changed on a periodic basis. Just
as it is important to safeguard one’s social security number
and bank account numbers it is important to keep computer passwords
private. Not doing so might lead to a situation of fraudulent communication.
- Do not lie - Lying is not tolerated in society
at large or in the medical academic community. Being dishonest violates
the professional responsibilities of a medical student. Therefore,
identity disguising during email use (“spoofing”) is prohibited.
Doing so is equivalent to fabricating identities on any other written
document. Never use someone else’s email address to send communications.
- Chain letters are prohibited - Initiating or forwarding
chain letters is strictly prohibited. Forwarding unwanted letters
occupies the time of other medical professionals. Also such forwarding
of chain mail from a Mount Sinai account could reflect negatively
on the institution and therefore the medical profession altogether.
- Respect people’s wishes - Sending email to
persons requesting that you not do so is prohibited. In essence this
is harassment and violates basic principles or interaction (including
the aforementioned of treating others in a manner that one would like
to be treated).
- Obscene content is prohibited - Obscene email may
not be sent via MSSM email system. This includes but is not limited
to: profane, intimidating, defamatory, harassing, pornographic communication.
Such emails are hurtful to others and violate the respect and caring
manner in which medical professionals are obligated to treat others.
Further, these emails damage the respect of Mount Sinai Medical School.
- Do not violate others confidentiality - Forwarding
someone else’s message without their permission is prohibited.
When someone sends an email they are assuming that it is being received
solely by the party being addressed. Violating a person’s confidentiality
is not tolerated in the medical community.
- Do not send message while upset - It is a good
idea not to send messages when angry or upset. Impulsive behavior
frequently causes problems and can be avoided. Take some time to review
what you plan to send. Because email can be stored, you can wind up
having to defend what you have posted long after the feelings motivating
the message are gone.
- Do not SHOUT - Don’t type messages in all
capital letters. This is known as SHOUTING. It can be offensive. Avoiding
offense goes along with the principle that requires that we treat
others with respect.
- Don’t reply to all recipients - unless you
are sure that all the recipients need to see your response. This can
waste people’s time. Further, it can create unnecessary confusion.
- Check the information and recipients in your message before
sending -
Do not send an email with information that might embarrass you or
others. It is easy to accidentally attach a wrong file or respond
to an entire list. It is good to assume that anything you write might
be forwarded to third parties. You should consider the potential embarrassment
to anyone who might view your comments.
References:
Barry, R. (1999) Barry Associate’s Recommended Email and Internet
Etiquette Guide. 1-5. http://rbarry.com/etiquette.html
Woodbury, M. (1998) Email, Voicemail and privacy: What policy is ethical?
1-8 http://www.cpsr.org/~marsha-w/emailpol.html
University of Michigan (1996) Email Etiquette for the 90s. 1-4 http://cuc.claremont.edu/email.html
University of Washington (2002) Guidelines for UW computing and Networking
Resources. 1-5 http://www.washington.edu/computing/rules/guidelines.html
Harvard Medical School IT Department (2002) Electronic Communications
Policy Guidelines. 1-3 http://www.hms.harvard.edu/it/email/ecpolicy.html
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