The ADA/CDR Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics.

The ADA/CDR

Code of Ethics

for the

Profession of Dietetics

“Right & Wrong”

“Moral & Immoral”

“Just & Unjust”

1. The study of standards of conduct and moral judgment.

2. A treatise on this study.

3. The system or code of morals of a particular philosopher, religion, or group, etc...

Ethics: (eth/ iks)

Aspirational

Educational

Regulatory

Types of Codes

The 19 ADA Principles

• Protect the profession and the credential.• Influence public and private policy.• Improve professional practice.• Meet the guidelines of the accrediting agency for

the Commission on Dietetic Registration.• Identify and reprimand all unqualified dietitians and

dietetic technicians.

Functions of a Code

• 1934 - 1st Report presented to members.

• 1982 - 1st Code adopted. Enforced 1985.

• 1987 - 2nd Code adopted. Enforced 1987.

• 1997 - Joint ADA/CDR Task Force convened.

• 1998 - New Code presented to members, Spring

HOD. Adopted, Fall HOD 1998.

• 1999 - New Code published January 1999.

Effective June 1999.

History

What’s Different About the New Code of Ethics ?

• Educational options.• Modernization:

a) provide full disclosure regarding conflict of

interest.

b) avoid sexual harassment.

c) sensitivity to cultural differences.• Communication of violations.

Professional Development

Portfolio

Professional Development

Portfolio

The Standardsof Professional

Practice

The Standardsof Professional

Practice

LifelongLearning andProfessional Enhancement

LifelongLearning andProfessional Enhancement

The Code of Ethics

• JADA, January 1999 p.109-113.

• Brochure - for bulk purchase. Single copy for free.

• Fax on demand library- 1-800-877-1600:

document #5004.

• ADA Web site- http://www.eatright.org/adacode.html.

Accessing the Code

Tools & Resources

• Ethics committee; Ethics team - Handout C.

• Ethics reading list - Handout B.

• State and AME presentations.

• Opinion papers.

• Publications and articles.

Confidentiality

Honesty, Integrity

Patient’s Rights

Ethical Business Practices

Issues: # of Times Listed

49

18

16

6

Decisionsin Dietetics Practice

Anderson S. Top Clin Nutr 1991; 6 (3): 63-67.

Ethics Issue or Not ?

• Legal or regulatory issue ?

• Employer policy issue ?

• Personal issue ?

• ADA/CDR member issue ?

Self Assessment - Ethics Scenarios -

• 8 Ethics scenarios.

• Work in groups.

• Report back results of discussion.

Conflict of Interest

The president-elect of a state dietetic association is

employed by a nationwide supplemented, fast-weight-loss

program. Today the state association board is voting on a

position regarding very-low-calorie diets.

Confidentiality

A dietitian gets on the elevator with you and several other

people; she has just begun screening a client with an unusual

diagnosis, and begins to discuss the client’s case with you.

Principles Relating toDietetics Practice

At 4 pm on Friday you receive a phone call from the

administration department secretary, who tells you, the director

of nutrition services, that she has received a call from a retired

company executive who would like a copy of a renal diet.

Use of Credentials

An individual in private practice plans to take the registration

examination. In anticipation of a favorable outcome and to save

time in promoting his practice, he has business cards printed

with “RD” after his name and also uses advertisements

promoting his RD credential. Several months later he takes the

exam and receives notification that he has passed.

Disagreement WithEmployer’s Practice

You are an employee of a large medical group. One of the

physician partners prescribes megavitamin therapy for AIDS

patients and severely restricted diets for patients with cancer.

He asks you to counsel his patients in these two regimens.

Difficult Decisions

A food service employee asked the food service Director if she

could take home some left-over food. The Director told her it

was against the facility’s policy and that it would be considered

pilferage, punishable by immediate termination. A dietetic

intern observed this interaction and later witnessed the

employee take some left-over food.

Difficult Decisions

A food service employee asked the food service Director if she

could take home some left-over food. The Director told her it

was against the facility’s policy and that it would be considered

pilferage, punishable by immediate termination. A dietetic

intern observed this interaction and later witnessed the

employee take some left-over food.

Exam Questions

While taking a course to prepare yourself for the registration

examination, you are asked to memorize two test items and

write them down immediately after leaving the exam room, then

submit them for compilation of a practice exam.

Disagreement with MD Regarding Patient’s Needs

A patient is admitted with severe trauma. Upon screening and

subsequent nutrition assessment, you determine he is at risk of

becoming malnourished and recommend nutrition support.

Five days later the patient is still NPO and receiving D5-W

through a peripheral venous access. You call his physician,

who refuses to initiate nutrition support and states that the

patient has enough fat to meet his needs for a long time.

Q & A and Summation

Ethics Presentations at AME - 99

• Genetics into the 21st Century - Impact of Dietetics Professionals10/17/99, 8:00am-12:00pm, Room 205E.E. Virginia Lapham, PhD; Chahira Kozma, MD;Kathryn M. Camp, MS, RD, CSP

• Telemedicine - Ethical Implications10/18/99, 4:00pm-5:30pm, Room 216/217E.Robert J. Waters, MPA, JD

• Do the Right Thing - The Revised Code of Ethics-- An herbal Supplements Case Study.

10/19/99; 4-5:30pm, Room 216/217E.Jane Folkman, MS, RD; Bruce Rengers, PhD,RD; Jerry Foote, MS, RD.

• Lenna Frances Cooper Lecture: Dietetics, Legalitites, Ethics and Eccentricities.

10/20/99, 8:00am-0\9:00am, Room Hall C.

Doris V. Derelian, PhD, RD, FADA

• Genetics in Dietetic: Education and Practice Issues - ethical, legal and pyschological issues that affect individuals with genetic disorders.

10/21/99, 8:30am-9:30am, Room 313E.

Kathryn M. Camp, MS, RD, CSP; Judith A.

Gilbride, PhD, RD, FADA.

Ethics Presentations at AME - 99