|
The American Board of Plastic Surgery Honor Code
Initial Certification and Maintenance of Certification Examinations
The American Board of Plastic Surgery (ABPS) expects candidates for initial certification and its diplomates to uphold fundamental moral and ethical principles. As specified by The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the American Board of Medical Specialties, residents, fellows, candidates and diplomates, must demonstrate a commitment to carrying out professional responsibilities, adherence to ethical principles, and sensitivity to diverse patient populations.
The materials developed by the ABPS for its certification and maintenance of certification examinations and other certification activities are copyrighted as the sole property of the ABPS and may not be reproduced in any way. Reproduction of copyrighted material, in whole or in part, is a federal offense. Irrespective of copyright, any attempt to distribute ABPS certification or maintenance of certification materials, in whole or part, undermines the fairness of the certification process and will be considered unethical, unprofessional, and dishonorable, and will constitute grounds for the ABPS to disqualify the candidate or diplomate from future examinations and/or other certification activities, invalidate current activities, revoke certificates, or take any other action deemed appropriate by the ABPS and its legal counsel.
Candidates and diplomates must understand that unethical and unprofessional behavior including but not limited to the listing below may be sufficient cause for the ABPS to deny admission to an examination for a period of up to five years, to terminate participation in an examination, to invalidate the result of an examination, to withhold scores or certificates, to require an individual to retake an entire activity or portions thereof, to revoke a certificate(s), or to take other appropriate action as deemed appropriate by the ABPS and its legal counsel:
- Falsification of an ABPS application;
- Submission of any falsified documents to the ABPS;
- Use of any falsified ABPS documents or the submission of such documents to other persons;
- Giving or receiving of aid in an examination as evidenced either by observation at the time of the examination or by statistical analysis;
- Unauthorized possession, reproduction, recording, discussion, reconstruction of content from memory, or disclosure of any materials, including, but not limited to, examination questions or answers, before, during, or after an examination or other certification activities;
- Offering of any financial or other benefit to any director, officer, employee, proctor, or other agent or representative of the ABPS in return for any right, privilege, or benefit which is not usually granted by the ABPS to other similarly situated candidates or persons.
Candidates and diplomates must also understand that the ABPS may withhold scores and may or may not require a candidate or diplomate to retake one or more portions of an examination if the ABPS is presented with sufficient evidence that the security of one or more portions of the examination has been compromised, notwithstanding the absence of any evidence of personal involvement in such activities. Candidates must agree that the ABPS will not be liable for candidate travel and/or other losses or expenses incurred as a result of an examination cancellation or postponement for such cases.
|
