RUSM Community Pledge

RUSM students, faculty, and staff play a critical role in protecting our communities from COVID-19. Today, and every day, please do your part by following the commitments outlined in our Community Pledge. 

Together, we can help keep RUSM, and the communities we serve, safe.

We are, more than ever before, individually and collectively responsible for the health and safety of each other — our fellow students, faculty, staff, families and neighbors. I acknowledge the trust others are placing in me, affirm the respect I have for all members of our community, and promise to honor my commitment to them through the decisions I make and the actions I take, whether I am on campus, at home or in my neighborhood.  

I recognize that RUSM is committed to sustaining a safe and healthy community, and seeks to minimize the risk to students, faculty, staff and others. And in return, on my honor, I commit to do my part by caring for myself and the community. To achieve these common goals, I will:  

• Wear a mask or face covering (ensuring my nose and mouth are covered) in all public spaces, and while I am on RUSM property (I am only allowed to not wear it if I am in a room by myself)  

• Maintain appropriate physical distance (3 feet on campus and 6 feet within the greater community) from others.  

• Wash (using CDC guidelines) or sanitize my hands often. 

• Monitor and report my symptoms through the RUSM Safe app or other approved alternatives, before coming to campus.  

• Avoid large gatherings and any other prohibited activities outlined in the current Barbados COVID-19 directives.  

• Stay at home and inform my supervisor (if colleague) or studentaffairs@rossu.edu (if student) and contact the Barbados COVID-19 hotline at 1-246-536-4500 when I experience symptoms consistent with COVID-19:  

  • Fever or chills  

  • Cough  

  • Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing  

  • Fatigue  

  • Muscle or body aches  

  • Headache  

  • New loss of taste or smell  

  • Sore throat  

  • Congestion or runny nose  

  • Nausea or vomiting  

  • Diarrhea  

• Know and follow safety plans, signage, and additional guidance that are specific to my group, workplace or activity.  

• Keep confidential all health information I know or learn about others.  

To protect myself and the people around me, I will:  

• Participate truthfully and responsibly in required COVID-19 testing, contact tracing and health monitoring.  

• If instructed, quarantine or self-isolate for the required duration.  

• Consider getting the flu shot and other required vaccinations.  

• Adhere to all travel conditions and restrictions imposed by relevant authorities.  

• Speak up to share suggestions or concerns by speaking with my supervisor/Human Resources (if colleague) or  BBRUSMCOVIDMitigationTeam@rossu.edu (if student), as appropriate.  

• Conduct myself in a manner that demonstrates respect for others around me, including considerations for health and safety, and follow both local government rules and RUSM’s rules for COVID-19 mitigation.  

Additional information on RUSM’s COVID-19 response can be found at:  https://medical.rossu.edu/student-life/return-to-campus.  

Community Members not located in Barbados will abide by the COVID-19 requirements and protocols of their local public health authorities, agencies and/or clinical clerkship sites.  

This Community Pledge is a published RUSM rule governing conduct under the Student Handbook and the Colleague Handbook.  

As a community, we pledge to abide by these expectations to the best of our abilities as long as deemed necessary by campus leadership and public health authorities. I have chosen to be a member of the RUSM community for a purpose  — to learn, to live, to teach, to work — and I affirm that the RUSM Community Pledge connects us all. By agreeing to this RUSM Community Pledge, I commit to be personally responsible and accountable.  

Adapted from the Duke University Compact and AUC Compact