Central to the Honor Code are the core values of the School of Medicine--excellence, respect, integrity, diversity and cooperation. As Dana Mitchell completes her studies at IU School of Medicine, her spirit of <strong>EXCELLENCE</strong> is a shining example of the very best in medicine.

Living the IU School of Medicine core values every day

Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA Oct 27, 2021

Fourth-year medical student Dana Mitchell

Dear Colleagues,

Earlier this year, a team working as part of the Diversity Task Forces effort shared an updated version of the IU School of Medicine Honor Code. The revision provided more well-defined links from the Honor Code back to our core values—ideals that are meant to inform the way we work and interact with one another.

Central to the Honor Code are the core values of the School of Medicine. EXCELLENCE, RESPECT, INTEGRITY, DIVERSITY and COOPERATION.

Fortunately, you don’t have to look very far at the School of Medicine to find colleagues living out these core values in their everyday lives.

One of those colleagues is Dana Mitchell, a fourth-year medical student at IU School of Medicine. I had the pleasure of meeting Dana recently, and was amazed by her story of determination and resilience. In September 2019, she was diagnosed with autoimmune encephalitis—a type of brain inflammation where autoantibodies against neurons wreak havoc in the brain.

Before she was diagnosed, Dana was struggling with severe headaches, fatigue and a persistent mental fog. After she was diagnosed, doctors struggled to find the right treatment. So, she began investigating her condition, reviewing 40 years-worth of research—and eventually found a drug combination, not previously used in this disease, that helped to restore her health.

As she completes her studies here at IU School of Medicine her spirit of EXCELLENCE is a shining example of the very best in medicine.

Video

Celebrating excellence: medical student solves her own mystery illness

“The best way I can describe it was neurological chaos,” Dana said of her sudden onset of symptoms. “I felt like my nervous system was on fire.”

Read Dana's story.

Living the IU School of Medicine core values

In the coming months, I’ll be highlighting more of these examples. With each Direct from the Dean message, you will learn more about your colleagues—hear their stories and find out how they’re bringing the Honor Code to life.

I hope that you will be as inspired as I am by their stories.

Sincerely,

Jay Hess signature
Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA
Executive Vice President for University Clinical Affairs
Dean of the School of Medicine
Indiana University

I want to hear from you.

Know someone who you think is a shining example of our core values?

Tell us their story.

Author

Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA

Jay L. Hess MD, PhD, MHSA became Dean of the School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for University Clinical Affairs at Indiana University in September 2013. Read his full bio.

The views expressed in this content represent the perspective and opinions of the author and may or may not represent the position of Indiana University School of Medicine.

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