New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 13 - LAW AND PUBLIC SAFETY › Chapter 39A - STATE BOARD OF PHYSICAL THERAPY › Subchapter 3 - BUSINESS PRACTICES; PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT › Section 13:39A-3.10 - Sexual misconduct

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) The purpose of this section is to identify for licensees of the State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners conduct which shall be deemed sexual misconduct.
(b) As used in this section, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Licensee" means any person licensed to engage in practice as a physical therapist or physical therapist assistant as regulated by the State Board of Physical Therapy Examiners.
"Patient" means any person who is the recipient of physical therapy examination, evaluation, instruction or treatment rendered by a licensee.
"Patient-therapist relationship" means a relationship between a licensed physical therapist or a licensed physical therapist assistant and a patient wherein the licensee owes a continuing duty to the patient to render physical therapy services consistent with his or her training and experience.
"Sexual contact" means the knowing touching of a person's body directly or through clothing, where the circumstances surrounding the touching would be construed by a reasonable person to be motivated by the licensee's own prurient interest or for sexual arousal or gratification. "Sexual contact" includes, but is not limited to, the imposition of a part of the licensee's body upon a part of the patient's body, sexual penetration, or the insertion or imposition of any object or any part of a licensee or patient's body into or near the genital, anal or other opening of the other person's body. "Sexual contact" does not include the touching of a patient's body which is necessary during the performance of a generally accepted and recognized physical therapy procedure.
"Sexual harassment" means solicitation of any sexual act, physical advances, or verbal or non-verbal conduct that is sexual in nature, and which occurs in connection with a licensee's activities or role as a provider of physical therapy services, and that either: is unwelcome, is offensive to a reasonable person, or creates a hostile workplace environment, and the licensee knows, should know, or is told this; or is sufficiently severe or intense to be abusive to a reasonable person in that context. "Sexual harassment" may consist of a single extreme or severe act or of multiple acts and may include, but is not limited to, conduct of a licensee with a patient, co-worker, employee, student or supervisee whether or not such individual is in a subordinate position to the licensee.
"Spouse" means the husband, wife or fiancee of the licensee or an individual involved in a long-term committed relationship with the licensee. For purposes of the definition of "spouse," a long-term committed relationship means a relationship which is at least six months in duration.
(c) A licensee shall not engage in sexual contact with a patient with whom he or she has a patient-therapist relationship. The patient-therapist relationship is ongoing for purposes of this section, unless:
1. Physical therapy is terminated by way of written notice to the patient and is documented in the patient record; and
2. The last physical therapy provided by that licensee was rendered more than three months ago.