The American Head and Neck Society is committed to promulgating and promoting professionalism and ethical behavior in its membership. As members, we value the trust placed in us by our patients, colleagues and society, and therefore willingly pledge to uphold the ethical and professional principles and virtues of medicine as outlined below.
We have a fundamental and sacred duty to our patients. Therefore, we will:
- Recognize that the welfare of our patients is the paramount priority
- Serve as advisors to our patients to help them navigate complex medical decisions
- Discuss the risks, benefits and alternatives of appropriate therapeutic options
- Be respectful of our patients’ viewpoints and beliefs
- Support our patients physically, emotionally and spiritually
- Care for and support our patients at the end of life
- Offer support and care to our patients’ families
- Strive to enhance and maximize our clinical, surgical and interpersonal competence
- Maintain a caring and respectful demeanor
We have a responsibility to our colleagues and teachers. Therefore, we will:
- Willingly acknowledge our skills and expertise to those wishing to learn
- Honor our teachers for devoting their time and energy on our behalf
- Assist our colleagues, technically, intellectually, emotionally and spiritually
- Respect our colleagues from other disciplines and practice multi-disciplinary care
- Provide legal opinions based only on evidenced-based practice and standards of care
- Offer care without regard to gender, age, religion, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or ethnicity
We also have an obligation to the faith entrusted in us by society. Therefore, we will:
- Perform self regulation by developing and adhering to professional, ethical and evidence-based practice standards
- Disclose and limit conflict of interest
- Practice medicine honestly, compassionately and confidentially
- Educate the public within the bounds of our expertise