Practice Standards and Ethics
Like most professions, dietitians have both a written Code of Ethics and a Professional Misconduct Regulation under the Dietetics Act. While covering many of the same topics, these documents have different perspectives. The Code of Ethics sets out the ideals that dietitians should strive to achieve, focusing on the values needed to reach excellence. It uses words such as "principle" and "pledge" to describe the precepts underlying the law.
The Professional Misconduct Regulation, by contrast, sets out the minimum legal requirements that a dietitian must practice. Failure to meet this bare minimum can result in disciplinary proceedings by the College and legal liability for professional negligence. It uses words such as "shall" and "must" to describe a dietitian's duties. Thus, the Code of Ethics and the Professional Misconduct Regulation have different goals.
Professionalism for Registered Dietitians requires a fundamental sense of how competence, honesty and fairness are balanced in the unique circumstances of a dietitian's practice. The Code of Ethics sets out what dietitians must strive to achieve as a professional in Ontario, and the definition of professional misconduct in the Professional Misconduct Regulation describes their obligations in legal language. In analyzing these two documents, certain themes emerge in defining professionalism for dietitians:
- being competent, i.e. having appropriate knowledge, skills and judgment;
- having an attitude focused on client welfare;
- being committed to a process of continuous upgrading;
- being scrupulously honest; and
- being fair in balancing the competing and, sometimes, contradictory interests impinging upon their practice.
The Standards of Practice for Dietitians in Ontario are set out in a variety of documents. These include the Professional Standards for Dietitians in Canada, as well as the RHPA , the Dietetics Act, College regulations, and other relevant legislation.
Together, these Standards, Regulations, legislation, and Code of ethics set a level of practice that ensures patient safety and prohibits RDs from undertaking activities for which they are not personally competent.
It is very important for dietitians, as well as their employers, to have a good understanding of the laws and regulations that affect dietetic practice. Below are links to the documents which form the foundation of dietetic professional standards.
