Code of ethics for the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (Revised): Report of Task Group 109

Med Phys. 2019 Apr;46(4):e79-e93. doi: 10.1002/mp.13351. Epub 2019 Feb 13.

Abstract

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) has established a comprehensive Code of Ethics for its members. The Code is a formal part of AAPM governance, maintained as Professional Policy 24, and includes both principles of ethical practice and the rules by which a complaint will be adjudicated. The structure and content of the Code have been crafted to also serve the much broader purpose of giving practical ethical guidance to AAPM members for making sound decisions in their professional lives. The Code is structured in four major parts: a Preamble, a set of ten guiding Principles, Guidelines that elucidate the application of the Principles in various practice settings, and the formal Complaint process. Guidelines have been included to address evolving social and cultural norms, such as the use of social media and the broadening scope of considerations important in an evolving workplace. The document presented here is the first major revision of the AAPM Code of Ethics since 2008. This revision was approved by the Board of Directors to become effective 1 January 2019.

Keywords: AAPM; TG109; code of ethics; medical physics; professionalism; task group report.

Publication types

  • Guideline

MeSH terms

  • Advisory Committees
  • Codes of Ethics*
  • Health Physics / ethics*
  • Health Physics / standards
  • Humans
  • Societies, Scientific / ethics*
  • United States