Principles
THE AMERICAN BOARD OF REGISTRATION OF
ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC AND EVOKED POTENTIAL TECHNOLOGISTS
CODE OF ETHICS AND STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
The American Board of Registration Of Electroencephalographic and Evoked Potential Technologists (“ABRET”) is a nonprofit credentialing board for Electroencephalographic (“EEG”)Technologists, Evoked Potential (“EP”) Technologists, and Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring (“CNIM”) Technologists and Long Term Monitoring (“CLTM”) Technologists, and seeks to encourage, establish and maintain the highest standards, traditions and principles of these technologies. ABRET Registered and Certified Technologists should recognize their responsibilities, not only to their patients, but also to society, to other health care professionals and to themselves.
The following principles have been adopted by the Board of Directors in order to encourage personnel to aspire to the highest possible professional practice. An ABRET Registered technologist or Certified individual shall
1. Do everything in his or her power to insure that the current Guidelines of the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society are complied with in the department in which he or she works.
2. Preserve human dignity, respect patient’s rights and support the well being of the patient under his or her care. The Registered or Certified person shall avoid discrimination against individuals on the basis of race, creed, religion, sex, age and national origin.
3. Appreciate the importance of thoroughness in the performance of duty, compassion with patients and the significance of the tasks he or she perform.
4. Preserve the confidentiality of medical and personal information of a patient.
5. Strive to remain abreast of current technology and to study and apply scientific advances in his or her specialty. Carry out their professional work in a competent and objective manner.
6. Abide by laws related to the profession and to general public health and safety and avoid dishonest, unethical or illegal practices.
7. Refuse primary responsibility for interpretation of testing or monitoring of Electroencephalograms, Evoked Potentials, or Neurophysiologic Intraoperative Monitoring for purposes of clinical diagnosis and treatment. Individuals who are licensed or otherwise authorized by practice standards to provide interpretation are excluded.
8. Be truthful, forthcoming, and cooperative in their dealings with ABRET.
9. Be in continuous compliance with ABRET’s rules (as amended from time to time by ABRET).
10. Respect ABRET’s intellectual property rights.
VIOLATIONS TO ABRET CODE OF ETHICS AND STANDARDS OF PRACTICE
PURPOSE OF STANDARDS:
ABRET has developed this Code of Ethics to articulate standards of conduct required for eligibility for certification and continued certification of EEG, EP, CNIM and CLTM technologists. Maintenance of board certification will require adherence to the ABRET Code of Ethics. Individuals who fail to meet these requirements may have their certification suspended or revoked. ABRET does not guarantee the job performance of any individual.
Reporting Requirements
An individual convicted of a felony related to electroencephalographic, evoked potential, long term monitoring or neurophysiologic intraoperative monitoring practice and/or public health and safety (including, but not limited to felonies involving rape, sexual abuse of a patient or child, actual or threatened use of a weapon, violence, and the prohibited sale, distribution or possession of a controlled substance) must notify ABRET of such conviction and shall be ineligible to apply for registration, certification, or renewed registration for a period of three (3) years from the exhaustion of appeals or final release from confinement, whichever is later.
1. Grounds for Disciplinary Action. ABRET may deny, suspend, revoke, or take other action regarding an application or certification if an individual is not in compliance with this Disciplinary Policy. Grounds for disciplinary action include (but are not limited to):
A. Ineligibility for certification, regardless of when the ineligibility is discovered;
B. An irregular event in connection with an ABRET examination including (but not limited to) copying answers, copying examination materials, and causing a disruption in the testing area;
C. Providing fraudulent or misleading information;
D. Failure to pay fees when due;
E. Unauthorized possession or misuse of ABRET credentials, examinations, and other intellectual property;
F. Misrepresentation of certification status;
G. Failure to provide requested information in a timely manner;
H. Failure to inform ABRET of changes or adverse actions;
I. Impairment of professional performance because of habitual use of alcohol, drugs, or other s substance, or any physical or mental condition;
J. Gross or repeated negligence or malpractice in professional work;
K. Noncompliance with laws related to the profession and to general public health and safety;
L. Accepting primary responsibility for interpretation of testing or monitoring for purposes of clinical diagnosis and treatment (Individuals who are licensed or otherwise authorized by practice standards to provide interpretation are excluded.);
M. Failure to maintain a current professional credential as required by the jurisdiction in which the individual practices (this may include a license, certificate, or registration);
N. The conviction of, plea of guilty to, or plea of nolo contendere to a felony or misdemeanor related to public health and safety or the profession;
O. Disciplinary action by a licensing board or professional organization other than ABRET; and
P. Other failure to maintain continuous compliance with ABRET standards, policies, and procedures.
2. Sanctions. If an individual is not exonerated or acquitted of all allegations, ABRET may impose one or more of the following sanctions for a violation of this Disciplinary Policy:
A. Denial or suspension of eligibility;
B. Denial of certification;
C. Revocation of certification;
D. Non-renewal of certification;
E. Suspension of certification for a specific period of time;
F. Reprimand;
G. Probation; or
H. Other corrective action.
Candidates or certificants may appeal the decision of the Discipline Committee to the ABRET Board of Directors by submitting a written appeals statement within 30 days. It is the candidate’s responsibility to initiate this appeal in accordance with ABRET’s policies.
Each candidate must affirm that the information provided in the Application is true and correct to the best of his or her knowledge. Each candidate further agrees to hold ABRET and its sponsoring organizations blameless from any claim for damages as a result of any action it may take in connection with this Application, the registration examination, or the results thereof.
You may obtain a copy of the complete violations and disciplinary policy and procedure from the ABRET website, www.abret.org.