7. Serve all members fairly, and realize no personal gain from a member, WOCNEP or industry partner. By virtue of position, the Board of Directors may find themselves in a position to grant or receive special favors (e.g., Kickbacks) for or from members, vendors, and others. The Board of Directors has a responsibility to make the best possible decisions in the interest of the WOCN Society without regard to personal gain. Therefore, members of the Board of Directors should take special care to avoid either the fact or the appearance of personal gain in decision-making. They have a responsibility to represent the interests of all members fairly and should avoid incurring an obligation to a single individual, vendor or some fraction of the membership.
8. Maintain the confidentiality of all privileged information, except when doing so becomes an ethical or legal breach of conduct. Representatives acting on behalf of the WOCN Society frequently have access to privileged information and are expected to keep such information confidential until it is made public. If a representative(s) receives information, which potentially places the WOCN Society legally at risk, she/he must immediately notify the president and chief staff officer while recognizing the confidentiality of the information. Members of the Board of Directors have a legal and fiduciary duty to maintain all Society information as confidential until such time as the Board determines any such information may be made public.
9. Representatives acting on behalf of the WOCN Society must be cognizant that they are representing the WOCN Society at all times.
10. If a member of the Board of Directors is considering an activity that could be considered a conflict of interest, the member should disclose to and consult with the president and chief staff officer. The matter will be referred to the Board of Directors for a decision. By way of example, members of the Board of Directors shall refrain from activities and relationships such as participation in industry-sponsored speakers’ bureau, participation in industry-sponsored clinical advisory panels, serving as Board of Directors’ member or program/committee chair for another society.
11. Use of publications and products. All WOCN publications and products are the property of the WOCN Society. No individual is authorized to publish or reproduce documents or material, nor act on behalf of the WOCN Society; except, with the express permission or written consent from the Board of Directors, president, chief staff executive, or a designee. This includes the use of the WOCN Society name, logo, or any terminology implying WOCN sponsorship or endorsement.
12. A brief ethical behavior checklist is included for addressing situations that have not been discussed. If unsure of what to do in a given situation, before making decisions or taking action, the following questions should be considered from the CLICK model (University of Dayton Research Institute, 2017):
- Consequence: What are the consequences if I do this? Who will benefit? Who will suffer?
- Legal: Is it legal?
- Image: Would I like to see this on the front page of the newspaper? Would I like to tell this to my kids?
- Culture: Does this decision support or damage our organization’s culture and values?
- Knot: Does doing it cause a knot in my stomach?
Reference: University of Dayton Research Institute. (2017). CLICK model. Retrieved December 5, 2017, from https://ethics.udri.udayton.edu/Pages/CLICKModel.aspx.