Student Course Work

Statement of Ethics and Professional Conduct

• In the conduct of their professional activities the Respiratory Care Practitioner shall be bound by the following ethical and professional principles. Respiratory Care Practitioners shall:
• Demonstrate behavior that reflects integrity, supports objectivity, and fosters trust in the profession and its professionals.
• Actively maintain and continually improve their professional competence, and represent it accurately.
• Perform only those procedures or functions in which they are individually competent and which are within the scope of accepted and responsible practice.
• Respect and protect the legal and personal rights of patients they treat, including the right to informed consent and refusal of treatment.
• Divulge no confidential information regarding any patient or family unless disclosure is required for responsible performance of duty, or required by law.
• Provide care without discrimination on any basis, with respect for the rights and dignity of all individuals.
• Promote disease prevention and wellness.
• Refuse to participate in illegal or unethical acts, and shall refuse to conceal illegal, unethical or incompetent acts of others.
• Follow sound scientific procedures and ethical principles in research.
• Comply with state or federal laws which govern and relate to their practice.
• Avoid any form of conduct that creates a conflict of interest, and shall follow the principles of ethical business behavior.
• Promote the positive evolution of the profession, and health care in general, through improvement of the access, efficacy, and cost of patient care.
• Refrain from indiscriminate and unnecessary use of resources, both economic and natural, in their practice.

Role Model Statement for Respiratory Care Practitioners

In addition to upholding the code of ethics of this profession by continually striving to render the highest quality of patient care possible, the respiratory care practitioner shall serve as a leader and advocate of public respiratory health.

The respiratory care practitioner shall participate in activities leading to awareness of the causes and prevention of pulmonary disease and the problems associated with the cardiopulmonary system.

The respiratory care practitioner shall support the development and promotion of pulmonary disease awareness programs, to include smoking cessation programs, pulmonary function screenings, air pollution monitoring, allergy warnings, and other public education programs.

The respiratory care practitioner shall support research in all areas where efforts could promote improved health and could prevent disease.

The respiratory care practitioner shall provide leadership in determining health promotion and disease prevention activities for students, faculty, practitioners, patients, and the general public.

The respiratory care practitioner shall serve as a physical example of cardiopulmonary health by abstaining from tobacco use and shall make a special personal effort to eliminate smoking and the use of other tobacco products from his home and work environment.

The respiratory care practitioner shall uphold himself as a model for all members of the health care team by demonstrating his responsibility and cooperating with other health care professionals to meet the health needs of the public.

Curriculum