Professionalism and Professional Obligations for Registered Dietitians

Code of Ethics & Professional Misconduct

While covering many of the same topics, the Code of Ethics and the Professional Misconduct Regulation 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. It sets out what dietitians must strive to achieve as a professional in Ontario.

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 and 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 their own competing and sometimes contradictory interests with those of clients and employers.