North Carolina Administrative Code › Title 21 - OCCUPATIONAL LICENSING BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS › Chapter 17 - DIETETICS, NUTRITION › Section .0100 - LICENSURE › Section 17 .0114 - CODE OF ETHICS FOR PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE AND CONDUCT

Current through Register Vol. 39, No. 2, July 15, 2024
(a) Licensees, under the Act, shall comply
				with the following Code of Ethics in their professional practice and conduct.
				The Code reflects the ethical principles of the dietetic/nutrition professional
				and outlines obligations of the licensee to self, client or patient, society,
				and the profession and sets forth mandatory standards of conduct for all
				licensees.
(1) The licensee shall provide
				professional services with objectivity and with respect for the unique needs
				and values of individuals as determined through the nutritional
				assessment.
(2) The licensee shall
				conduct all practices of dietetics or nutrition with honesty.
(3) The licensee shall present substantiated
				information and assess the validity and applicability of scientific evidence
				without personal bias.
(4) The
				licensee shall practice evidence-based dietetics or nutrition.
(5) The licensee shall assume responsibility
				and accountability for personal competence in practice, continuously develop
				and enhance expertise through education, and recognize personal
				limitations.
(6) The licensee shall
				inform the public of his or her services by using accurate and truthful
				information.
(7) The licensee shall
				not exercise undue influence on a client or patient. This includes, not
				exercising excessive persuasion or improper influence on a client or patient in
				the promotion or the sale of services or products. The licensee shall be alert
				to any conflicts of interest and shall provide full disclosure when a real or
				potential conflict of interest arises.
(8) The licensee shall not reveal information
				about a client or patient obtained in a professional capacity, without prior
				consent of the client or patient, except as authorized or required by law, and
				shall make full disclosure about any limitations on his or her ability to
				guarantee this.
(9) The licensee
				shall safeguard client or patient confidentiality according to current
				regulations and laws, using appropriate technology, such as
				encryption.
(10) The licensee shall
				recognize and exercise professional judgment within the limits of the
				licensee's qualifications and shall not accept or perform professional
				responsibilities which the licensee knows or has reason to know that he or she
				is not qualified to perform.
(11)
				The licensee shall collaborate with others involved in the patient's care,
				obtain consultation from health care providers when appropriate, and make
				referrals to health care providers when the licensee cannot provide the client
				or patient the services he or she needs.
(12) The licensee shall take action, with
				prior consent of the client or patient, to inform a client or patient's
				physician or other health care practitioner in writing in cases where a client
				or patient's nutritional status indicates a change in health status impacting
				the disease or medical condition for which the physician or other health care
				practitioner is treating the client or patient.
(13) The licensee shall ensure that his or
				her client or patient has sufficient information to understand the nutrition
				diagnosis and the implications of nutrition intervention. The licensee shall
				not guarantee that nutrition care services will cause any certain outcome or
				particular result for the client or patient.
(14) The licensee shall permit use of that
				licensee's name for the purpose of certifying that dietetics or nutrition
				services have been rendered only if the licensee has provided or supervised
				those services.
(15) The licensee
				shall document, code, and bill nutrition services to most accurately reflect
				the character and extent of such delivered services.
(16) The licensee shall notify the Board in
				writing within 30 days of the occurrence of any of the following:
(A) the licensee seeks any medical care or
				professional treatment for the chronic or persistent use of intoxicants, drugs,
				or narcotics.
(B) the licensee is
				adjudicated to be mentally incompetent.
(C) the licensee has been convicted or
				entered into a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to any crime directly related
				to the duties and responsibilities of a dietitian or nutritionist or that was
				violent or sexual in nature; or
(D)
				the licensee has been disciplined by an agency of another state that regulates
				the practice of dietetics or nutrition.
(17) The licensee shall comply with all laws
				and rules concerning the profession.
(18) The licensee shall uphold the Code of
				Ethics for professional practice and conduct by reporting to the Board
				inappropriate behavior or treatment of a client or patient by the licensee or
				others in violation of the Code and the Act.
(19) The licensee shall not interfere with an
				investigation or disciplinary proceeding by willful misrepresentation of facts
				to the Board or its representative or by the use of threats or harassment
				against any person.
(20) The
				licensee shall not engage in kissing, fondling, touching, or in any activities,
				advances, or comments of a sexual nature with any client, patient, or, while
				under the licensee's supervision, any supervisee, student, or
				trainee.
(21) The licensee shall
				not invite, accept, or offer gifts, monetary incentives, or other
				considerations that affect or reasonably give an appearance of affecting the
				licensee's professional judgment.