In response to a petition signed by 278 Harvard medical students, the Medical School Faculty voted Friday to take steps towards more constructive relations with Boston's black community.

The petition, signed by more than a third of the Med School's students, calls for the formation of a student-faculty-administration fact-finding committee and for a six-point program to improve the school's role in Roxbury.

The Faculty vote empowered Dr. Robert H. Ebert, dean of the Medical School, to "carry out the spirit of the student recommendations as he sees fit."

The petition specifically recommended:

* An evaluation of the quality, availability, utilization, and control of health services in the black community.

* Provisions for emergency medical care during periods of civil disorder.

* The development of health employment opportunities for members of the black community within the Harvard Medical Area.

* The establishment of effective, permanent liaison between Harvard Medical School and community organizations in Roxbury, North Dorchester, and the South End.

* Strengthening research and teaching in social and community medicine at the Harvard Medical School.

* Investigation of all other problems regarding Harvard Medical School and the black community of Boston which are deemed appropriate by the commission.

The petition also requests that "funds and facilities be made available" to the commission.

The Faculty did not propose any specific guidelines for Dr. Ebert. John H. Moxley 3rd, assistant to the dean, called Friday's action a "sentimental vote," and said that Ebert would probably "move right ahead" with setting up the commission.