S.I. No. 392/2013 - Radiographers Registration Board Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics Bye-law 2013.

1. Identify the problem and gather as much information as you can.

Ask yourself if it is an ethical, professional, clinical or legal problem.

2. Review the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics and identify the relevant parts. Check other professional guidelines too such as those of the Health Service Executive or government departments as well as any relevant legislation.

3. Discuss the issue with professional colleagues.

4. Consider asking your professional body for advice.

5. Evaluate the rights, responsibilities and welfare of everyone affected. Remember that your first obligation is to the patient.

6. Keep notes at each stage of the process.

7. Consider different solutions and decisions.

8. Evaluate and document the potential consequences of each option.

9. Choose the best solution or decision based on your professional judgement.

10. Put the solution or decision into practice, informing all the people affected.

11. Remember that you are responsible, as an autonomous practitioner, for the consequences of the solution or decision that you choose.

Bibliography

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Guidelines for Professional Conduct for Radiographers, Radiation Therapists and Sonographers.

[pdf] Melbourne: AIR. Available at

http://www.air.asn.au/cms_ files/01_ TheAir/07_ Ethics/Professional_ Conduct.pdf

[Accessed 2 July 2012].

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Code of Practice-Radiography

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[Accessed 2 July 2012].

Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 2011.

Code of Professional Values and Behaviour.

[online] London:CSP. Available at

http://www.csp.org.uk/professional-union/professionalism/csp-expectations-members/code-professional-values-behaviour

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Canadian Association of Medical Radiation Technologists, 2012.

Code of Ethics

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http://www.camrt.ca/abouttheprofession/codeofethics/code_ ethics_ letter.pdf

[Accessed 2 July 2012].

European Federation of Radiographer Societies, 2010.

Code of Ethics

. Utrecht: EFRS.

Health and Social Care Professionals Council, 2010. Framework Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics. [pdf] Dublin: HSCPC. Available at

http://www.coru.ie/uploads/Framework%20Code%20of%20Professional%20Conduct%20and%20Ethics.pdf

[Accessed 11 September 2012]

Health and Social Care Professionals Council, 2013. Framework for a Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

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Good Medical Practice: guidelines for doctors.

[pdf] London:GMC. Available at

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Standards of conduct, performance and ethics.

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http://www.hpc-uk.org/publications/index.asp-id=38#publicationSearchResults

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Code of Professional Conduct for Diagnostic Radiographers and Radiation Therapists.

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[Accessed 2 July 2012].

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Rules of Professional Conduct incorporating Code of Ethics and Guidelines for Professional Behaviour.

Dublin: ISCP.

Nursing & Midwifery Council, 2008.

Standards of Conduct, Performance and Ethics for Nurses and Midwives.

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http://www.nmc-uk.org/Documents/Standards/nmcTheCodeStandardsofConductPerformanceAndEthicsForNursesAndMidwives_ TextVersion.pdf

[Accessed 2 July 2012].

New Zealand Institute of Medical Radiation Technology, 2004. Code of Ethics for Medical Technologists. [online] New Plymouth: NZIMRT in conjunction with the Medical Radiation Technology Board. Available at: http://nzimrt.co.nz/default.aspx-g=42f9096a-1cd6-4f8b-be9d-6da76817a997[Accessed 2 July 2012].

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Individual responsibilities: a guide to good medical practice for clinical radiologists.

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Royal College of Radiologists, 2006.

Standards for the reporting and interpretation of imaging investigations.

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GIVEN under the seal of the Radiographers Registration Board,

11 October 2013.

JASON LAST,

Chairperson, Radiographers Registration Board.

LOUISE RAINFORD,

Member, Radiographers Registration Board.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the bye-law and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

This bye-law adopts the Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics agreed by the Radiographers Registration Board.

12. Assist and advise colleagues and recently qualified registrants and students

You should

help and advise colleagues, recently qualified registrants and students in your profession to develop the professional skills, values, courtesies, attitudes and behaviour they will need when dealing with patients, carers and staff.

13. Teach, supervise and assess students and other professionals

You should

a. be willing to be involved in supervising, teaching, training, appraising and assessing students in your profession and do so fairly and respectfully using agreed criteria;

b. meet your professional obligation to teach, train and mentor other healthcare professionals in specified practice areas.

14. Supervise tasks that you give to others

You must

a. acknowledge that patients have the right to assume that the person providing treatment or imaging services to them has the knowledge, skills and competence to do so;

b. always continue to give adequate and appropriate supervision, if you delegate a task;

c. understand that you are accountable for any task you delegate to a student;

d. understand that if a student or another practitioner is unwilling to carry out a task because they do not think they are capable of doing so safely and effectively, you must not force them to do so. If their refusal raises a disciplinary or training issue, you must deal with this separately. The patient must never be put at unnecessary risk.

You must not

ask anyone to do anything which is outside their knowledge, skills and level of expertise unless they are supervised by a practitioner (Radiographer/Radiation Therapist) experienced in that area of practice.

15. Enhance the patient experience

You should

a. contribute to the development of your profession in a way that improves the patient experience;

b. be willing to work as part of a multi-disciplinary approach to optimising patient care.

16. Keep accurate records including images

You must

a. keep clear and accurate records including images in line with the policies and procedures set out in your workplace;

b. make sure that all records are

• complete,

• legible (if handwritten),

• identifiable as being made by you,

• dated and timed,

• prepared as soon as practicable following examination or treatment, and

• clear and factual;

c. if you supervise students, review each student’s entries in the records and record that you have done so;

d. protect information in records against loss, damage or access by anyone who is not allowed to access them;

e. make sure that if records are updated, the information that was there before is not erased or made difficult to read;

f. hold and use records according to relevant legislation.

Records are all information collected, processed and held in manual, electronic or any format pertaining to the patient and patient care. Records include data (within the meaning of the Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003), demographics, clinical data, images, unique identification, investigation, samples, correspondence and communications relating to the patient and their care.

17. Address health and safety risks

You must

a. follow risk assessment policies and procedures to assess potential risks in the workplace and your areas of practice;

b. take any steps needed to minimise, reduce or eliminate the risks you identify;

c. inform colleagues and the authorities about the outcomes and implications of risk assessments;

d. read and understand your institution’s or department’s safety statement.

18. Be an advocate for patients

You should

a. speak out on behalf of patients about safety and quality of care;

b. report any concerns you have about patient safety and quality of care to the proper authorities.

Ethics

You must always keep a high standard of ethics. Your duties are to

19. Demonstrate ethical awareness

You must

make sure you read and understand this Code of Professional Conduct and Ethics.

You must not

enter into any agreement or contract or accept any gift that might cause you to breach this Code.

You should

be aware of the wider need to use limited resources as efficiently and responsibly as is practicable. Whilst acknowledging your primary duty of care to the patient, you have a duty to assist in the efficient and effective use of resources and to give advice on their appropriate allocation. Take particular care when ethical issues arise. (Please see Appendix A for a suggested procedure for ethical decision-making.)

20. Respect the rights, needs, values, culture, dignity and vulnerability of patients

You must

a. always show, through your practice and conduct, respect for the rights and dignity of all individuals as identified under the Equal Status Act as updated from time to time, regardless of their

• gender,

• family status,

• civil status,

• age,

• disability,

• sexual orientation,

• religion,

• ethnicity, or

• membership of the Traveller Community;

b. respect patients’ rights, needs, values, culture, dignity and vulnerability. Be especially respectful when you are carrying out an intimate or sensitive investigation or procedure and make sure that another suitable member of staff is present, even if you are the same gender as the patient.

21. Carry out your duties in a professional and ethical way

You must

a. carry out your duties and responsibilities in a professional and ethical way to protect the public;

b. uphold the reputation of the profession and always behave with integrity and honesty;

c. make sure your practice benefits and does not cause harm to the patient or others;

d. if there is a conflict of interest between the patient and the safeguarding of children or other vulnerable people, safeguarding should take precedence. Remember that you have responsibilities under child protection and other laws.

22. Undertake research in an ethical manner

You must

a. collect, protect and destroy data in line with relevant legislation;

b. submit research proposals to the relevant research ethics committees and get ethical approval before starting the research;

c. obtain informed consent from patients in line with the procedures laid down by the ethics committee;

d. treat all information gathered during the research confidentially and make sure that participants cannot be identified through their data;

e. make sure you do not distort or misuse clinical or research findings;

f. make sure that a patient’s refusal to take part in research does not influence the delivery of service to that patient in any way;

g. follow accepted guidelines in scientific journals concerning intellectual property, copyright and acknowledging the work of others.

You should

a. take part in research or support the research of others where possible;

b. disseminate or circulate the research findings widely to further the evidence base of the profession and to improve patient examination and treatment.

23. Make sure that advertising is truthful, accurate and lawful

You should

make sure that any advertising is truthful, accurate and lawful.

Appendix A — Suggested procedure for ethical decision-making

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of

15

th October

, 2013.

The Radiographers Registration Board, in exercise of the powers conferred in it by

section 31

of the

Health and Social Care Professionals Act 2005

(as amended), with the approval of the Health and Social Care Professionals Council, hereby makes the following bye-law