Professional Ethics and Morality: e-Resources

Through its individual and institutional members, APPE supports and trains the next generation of faculty and professionals, works to improve ethical conduct in the workplace, and to advance public dialogue in ethics and values.

of this policy for professional conduct and accountability. All RCRMC personnel, including volunteers and students, are committed to a belief in the dignity and worth of the individual human being. They maintain integrity with respect to their duties as they come in contact with the public, other service providers, and clients and patients.

Principle I: Confidentiality

It is a primary obligation for all RCRMC employees to safeguard information about patients.

Records kept for clinical or other business purposes should contain no unnecessary reference to behavior or social condition. Personal values and judgments are not appropriate in records. It may be important to describe specific aspects of problematic behavior in some cases. This should be done without recording personal value judgments or opinions about this behavior.

Release of information on employees, patients or clients will be in compliance with RCRMC policies and other federal, State, and local regulations.

Principle II: Professional Conduct

High standards of professional behavior and responsibility will be maintained.

(a) Each RCRMC employee will take responsibility for assuring the continuity of public services provided by continuing contact and following up referrals made to other agencies or individuals.

(b) Respect for the rights and privacy of colleagues will be maintained.

(1) The request of a patient to receive services from a particular RCRMC staff member or provider will be honored whenever possible. Continuity of care is valued and ensured by maintaining a continuing health services relationship between the client or patient and the RCRMC provider of services.

(2) RCRMC employees will direct any criticism of another staff member’s work or actions to that person, to that person’s supervisor, and/or to County Human Resources staff only. Criticism or controversy related to staff actions, County, or RCRMC policies, personnel, or procedures shall not be directed to clients or patients or discussed within their hearing.

(c) RCRMC staff will not misrepresent his/her professional credentials, qualifications, affiliation, and functions or those of the colleagues, institutions, and organizations with which associated.

(d) RCRMC medical and clinical staff will uphold patient’s and client’s rights regarding medical and health care services according to County and RCRMC policy.

Principle III: Quality of Service

The maintenance of high standards of professional competence and quality of service is the responsibility of all RCRMC employees.

(a) A health professional will offer service or use techniques that are generally acceptable to professional judgment and the community in terms of effectiveness and procedure. Controversial issues shall be discussed with supervisory staff and staff actions will meet with supervisory approval.

(b) Each individual will be responsible for recognizing the limitations of his/her competence and will not provide services or use procedures with which he/she is not familiar.

(c) Each professional should seek supervisory or peer advice for problematic issues of patient management, treatment, and other health care services.

Principle IV: Moral and Legal Standards

RCRMC employees will show regard for the social codes and moral expectations of the community in which they work. RCRMC employees will recognize that violations of accepted moral and legal standards may result in personal harm and injury of reputations of RCRMC patients, colleagues, themselves, and RCRMC as well as cause unnecessary risk to RCRMC.

Principle V: Medical Provider-Client Relationships

The relationship between a medical service provider and a client will be professional, with all interactions based on accepted diagnostic and therapeutic principles and standards.

(a) RCRMC employees will maintain professional and objective personal conduct among themselves and the patient and the patient’s family and close associates.

(b) Medical providers should have a personal concern for patients. Personal concern will be maintained within the bounds of professional responsibilities so as to safeguard the welfare of the patient both during and after provision of health care services.

(c) The health care or treatment relationship should never include behaviors on the part of the provider that would be abusive or damaging to the patient.

(d) When there is a conflict among professional workers, the professional is concerned primarily with the welfare of the patient or client involved and only secondarily with the interest of the professional group. When such conflict occurs, it should be reported immediately to the supervisor or manager for resolution. The issue also may be referred to the RCRMC Bio-Ethics Committee for resolution.

(e) The professional will terminate a health care relationship by transferring the patient to another staff member when it is reasonably clear that the patient will not benefit from the present arrangement.

(f) Care must be taken to ensure an appropriate environmental services setting to foster a positive self-image for the patient and provider, to preserve their human dignity, to ensure adequate privacy, and to protect the patient and provider.

(g) A medical provider who has pre-existing social ties or a personal relationship with a patient should discuss this matter with the supervisor before providing services to that client/patient. It must be assured that effective, ethical services can be provided.

the highest standards, and recognition of technical excellence. ACM supports the professional growth of its members by providing opportunities for life‐long learning, career development, and professional networking.

Founded at the dawn of the computer age, ACM’s reach extends to every part of the globe, with more than half of its 100,000 members residing outside the U.S. Its growing membership has led to Councils in Europe, India, and China, fostering networking opportunities that strengthen ties within and across countries and technical communities. Their actions enhance ACM’s ability to raise awareness of computing’s important technical, educational, and social issues around the world.

Special Interest Groups Form around ACM’s Powerful, Vibrant Communities

Networking opportunities in ACM’s 37 Special Interest Groups (SIGs) are always expanding, reflecting the growth of computing’s discrete disciplines and technical communities. The leading representatives of their fields, ACM SIGs sponsor annual conferences, workshops, and symposia serving practitioner‐ and research‐based constituencies. Because they provide objective arenas for novel, often competing ideas, many of these meetings have become premier global events.

Chapters: ACM's "Local Neighborhoods"

ACM’s broad‐based infrastructure supports more than 860 professional and student chapters worldwide. These "local neighborhoods" offer opportunities for members to gain access to critical research and establish personal networking systems.

ACM, Member-driven, Volunteer-led

ACM offers volunteer opportunities for members and non‐members that create networking possibilities and enhance career development. At the grassroots level, ACM volunteers serve a growing international community of researchers, practitioners and students by lending valuable assistance at conferences, publications, webinars, and other events.

Volunteers have a direct and critical impact on ACM’s governance through the ACM Council, the highest governing authority. Volunteers also serve on the ACM Executive Committee and numerous other boards and task forces.

Volunteers – members and non-members alike – hold leadership roles in ACM journal publications as Editors‐in‐Chief, Associate Editors, and reviewers. They also comprise the ACM Education Board, which provides curriculum recommendations for four‐year universities as well as community colleges. The Board’s 2013 recommendations in computer science have even been translated into Chinese.

ACM’s ‘Big Tent’ Philosophy Embraces Diversity

The ACM community is as diverse as the subfields that comprise computer science, from educators and researchers in academia to practitioners in project management, industrial research, and software development, engineering, and application design.

This diversity extends to their gender and ethnicities. The ACM Women’s Council (ACM‐W) advocates internationally for full engagement of women in all aspects of computing. The ACM‐sponsored Richard Tapia Celebration of Diversity in Computing brings together students, faculty, researchers, and professionals from all backgrounds. It provides a supportive networking environment for under‐represented groups across a range of computing and information technology fields.

Supporting Tomorrow’s Problem Solvers Today

ACM Student Chapters enable students to fully engage in its professional activities. Participants from more than 500 colleges and universities worldwide enhance their learning through the exchange of ideas with other students and established professionals.

ACM offers $1.5 million in scholarships and an affordable Student Membership. Both undergraduate and graduate student members can compete in ACM Student Research Competitions, an internationally recognized venue hosted at ACM conferences and sponsored by Microsoft. They benefit by sharing their research with peers and academic and industry luminaries, gaining recognition and experience, and earning rewards.

The IBM‐sponsored ACM International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM‐ICPC) is a renowned competition for student programmer teams worldwide. ACM also presents the Doctoral Dissertation Award to recognize superior research in computer science and engineering.

Giving Credit where Credit Is Due

ACM recognizes excellence through its eminent awards for technical and professional achievements and contributions in computer science and information technology. It also names as Fellows and Distinguished Members those members who, in addition to professional accomplishments, have made significant contributions to ACM's mission.

ACM's prestigious A.M. Turing Award is accompanied by a $1 million prize provided by Google for contributions of lasting and major technical importance to the computing field. Other prominent ACM awards recognize achievements by young computing professionals, educators, theoretical computer scientists, software systems innovators, and pioneers who have made humanitarian and cross-discipline contributions.

Providing Tireless Advocacy of Critical Public Policy Issues

ACM leverages its international respect and leadership to shape public policy worldwide. Through its geographically distributed policy entities in Europe and North America, ACM helps develop policy statements, issue briefs, white papers, and reports to provide policymakers with knowledge‐based analysis that accelerates computing innovations which benefit society. It also delivers expertise on education policy, women in computing, and diversification of computing.

ACM Publications - Advancing Research, Technology, and Innovation

As a leading global source for scientific information, ACM promotes computer research and innovation through its journals, magazines, and the proceedings of more than 170 annual conferences and symposia. ACM authors are among the world's leading thinkers in computing and information technologies, providing original research and firsthand perspectives.

ACM also provides access to the ACM Digital Library (DL), a comprehensive and expanding database of literature and detailed bibliographic resources for computing professionals from a wide range of publishers. The DL currently includes more than 1 million articles authored by leading researchers in computing. The flagship magazine Communications of the ACM provides industry news, commentary, observations, and practical research.

Guiding Members with a Framework of Ethical Conduct

The ACM Code of Ethics identifies the elements of every member’s commitment to ethical professional conduct. It outlines fundamental considerations that contribute to society and human well-being and those that specifically relate to professional responsibilities, organizational imperatives, and compliance with the code.