Event Code of Conduct

Introduction

AWHONN is dedicated to fostering a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment for all participants at our events. This code applies to all meeting attendees, including participants, presenters, volunteers, exhibitors, staff, and service providers, across in-person, hybrid, or virtual events hosted or sponsored by our organization.

Key Principles:

• By attending any event, participants agree to:
• Communicate in a courteous, professional, and respectful manner
• Be considerate of diverse opinions and viewpoints
• Maintain awareness of their surroundings and the comfort of others

Our organization enforces a zero-tolerance policy for harassment, including but not limited to discrimination or offensive behavior based on age, ethnicity, gender, race, religion, disability, or sexual orientation. Any incidents of unacceptable behavior should be reported to the organizers of the conference and ethics@awhonn.org.

Unacceptable Behavior

Unacceptable behavior includes, but is not limited to:

• Harassment, intimidation, or discrimination
• Offensive gestures, comments, or imagery
• Verbal or written abuse directed at any participant
• Disruptions during sessions or events
• Unauthorized recording of presentations
• Sharing screenshots or chat room activity from virtual spaces without consent

Disciplinary Actions

Violations of this code may result in:

• Immediate removal from the event without warning or refund
• Banning from future events hosted by the organization
• Further actions as deemed necessary to ensure a safe environment

Social Media Code of Conduct

Introduction

The AWHONN Social Media Code of Conduct embodies our values, high standards of ethics, and commitment to mutual respect. It serves as a guideline for professional and respectful communication within our online communities. Members are encouraged to uphold integrity and exercise good judgment while interacting on our platforms. For any uncertainties, contact AWHONN for clarification. Constructive dialogue and the exchange of ideas are encouraged, provided all participants adhere to this code.

Key Principles

1. Anti-Harassment and Anti-Discrimination
   • AWHONN fosters an environment where all interactions are characterized by dignity, decency, and mutual respect.
   • Harassment, discrimination, or biases of any kind are strictly prohibited.
2. Community Integrity
   • Maintain secure and trustworthy spaces for members.
   • Encourage fellowship, professional support, and the exchange of innovative ideas.
3. Ethical and Respectful Communication
   • Engage in honest, civil, and professional discussions.
   • Avoid divisive, obscene, or inappropriate language or imagery.
   • Steer clear of political, religious, or non-health care-related content.
4. Advertising and Promotion
   • Unless otherwise specified below, advertising and promotion are strictly prohibited.

Guidelines for Participation

1. Honor our differences
   • Fellow online users should always be treated with respect, without exception. Discrimination based on age, race, ethnicity, national origin, citizenship, disability, marital status, religion, sexuality, gender, gender identity, or any other legally recognized protected basis under federal, state, or local laws, regulations, or ordinances will not be tolerated. We want the AWHONN online communities to be welcoming forums for all members; this means that discriminatory statements, both clear and masked in words or images, are not appropriate. Harassing, bullying, trolling, taunting, or defamatory content will also not be tolerated.
2. Communicate in a professional manner
   • Maintain open, honest, and respectful dialogues. Discussions should encourage conversation and not create divisiveness or tension. Every member deserves the opportunity to express his or her opinions on patient care-related matters openly and in a civil, respectful manner. Participants should act in a dignified and courteous manner to avoid injuring others, their property, reputation, or employment by false, malicious, or improper action. Obscene, vulgar, or inappropriate language and/or images are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
3. Avoid discussions pertaining to politics, religion, and sexual content
   • AWHONN’s online communities are designed to enable discussion on topics related to patient care. Use of AWHONN’s social media to discuss and debate politics, religion, and non-health care related sexual content is prohibited. Posting of political promotions and/or content of self-interest is also prohibited.
4. Behave ethically
   • All persons participating in AWHONN online communities shall act honestly, in good faith, and with the highest professional standards.
5. Treat others as you want to be treated
   • Misunderstandings on forums are quite common often due to the difficulty in understanding the implied tone in another user’s remarks. Take extra care to be kind in your comments to other users and never react negatively to comments you perceive as rude or otherwise objectionable. Instead, it is always wiser to either end the discussion, ignore the comment entirely, or in more severe cases report the offense to the AWHONN staff at socialmedia@awhonn.org. Responding to another user’s comments in a manner contrary to our posting policy will be viewed by AWHONN as equally inappropriate and may result in sanctions against your forum privileges.
6. Protect the integrity of AWHONN Participants should safeguard AWHONN’s reputation and integrity by ensuring that any public statements relating to AWHONN, which are not official statements of AWHONN, are properly portrayed as the opinion of the individual making them. Statements directed to AWHONN as an organization should be expressed in a civil and respectful manner to avoid injuring the organization’s intellectual property or reputation by false, malicious, or improper action. Obscene, vulgar, or inappropriate language and/or images are not acceptable and will not be tolerated.
7. Advertising for other companies and personal business programs is strictly prohibited
   • Except for the items listed below, participants are not allowed to post solicitations of any kind (research, survey, service and/or product promotions, etc.). Participants are prohibited from posting commercial messages or promotions, advertising, or selling goods or services. Use caution when discussing products. Comments are subject to libel, slander, and antitrust laws. If you request information about a product or service, note that any responses are considered personal referrals and not an AWHONN endorsement. AWHONN does not endorse any vendors. Job postings can be made at https://careers.awhonn.org/employers/.
   • Exceptions to the Advertising Policy:
     • AWHONN Headquarters can post solicitations related to its products, services, events, advocacy, research, and other mission-related activities in any social media forum managed by AWHONN. This includes any instructor-led events for AWHONN products and resources organized by AWHONN Headquarters.
     • Sections, Chapters, and Special Interest Groups (SIGs) can post solicitations related to events organized by the Section, Chapter, or SIG in the specified social media forum for the Section, Chapter, or SIG.
     • Individual members may post up to two notifications about an educational event/activity that has nursing contact hours affiliated with the event in the “Education Bulletin Board Community.” The contact hour information must be posted in the event; events without contact hour information will be removed. This platform is designed only to promote educational events. Products, resources, surveys, market research, or other services may not be solicited or promoted in the AWHONN Member Community. Fetal Heart Monitoring Instructors and Obstetric Patient Safety Instructors may post about their events on this platform, but they must also continue to schedule their events on the AWHONN website. All postings must provide contact information for people with further questions, as this platform discussion will be disabled. All postings must provide email contact information for questions about the event.
8. Do not discuss AWHONN social media administrative/moderator actions on the forums
   • If you do not agree with a moderator or AWHONN staff decision, you may send a private message to the moderator or AWHONN staff administrator at reply@AWHONN.org. You may not start a thread or post a complaint that your post was removed. Also, you may not post any private correspondence from an AWHONN online moderator/administrator. Membership account issues should be directed to membership@awhonn.org and not displayed in a public forum.
9. Safeguard patient and member privacy; maintain confidentiality where applicable
   • Never share personal health information (PHI) on AWHONN’s social media. Preserve, protect, and secure PHI and hold in the highest regard health information and other information of a confidential nature obtained in an official capacity, taking into account the applicable statutes and regulations. Comply with HIPAA requirements. For more information about PHI, visit: http://bit.ly/2wVCah9. Remain mindful of any information you share — any personally identifiable information you share can be seen by persons with access to AWHONN social media. Do not disclose any kind of confidential, proprietary, or sensitive business or other information. Do not disclose personal emails, phone numbers, addresses, family information, employer details, or any kind of private information that should not be displayed in a public forum.
10. Respect intellectual property rights
    • AWHONN social media may not be used in a manner that violates applicable federal, state, or local laws, or any other AWHONN policies, procedures, rules, or regulations. For example, while sources can be disclosed, participants may not post or distribute files, articles, or other information subject to trademark, copyright, or other proprietary rights, except with the express consent of the owner of the rights.
11. Avoid remarks that may constitute defamation
    • Posted statements that are offensive and insulting to individuals (or constituencies or organizations) violate the Code of Conduct and may violate applicable defamation laws. The term defamation can include verbal and written statements that are factually false. Defamation laws, which vary from state to state, are generally intended to protect individuals and organizations from false statements that could harm their reputations. One key element in proving defamation claims in most states is that the aggrieved party must establish that the defendant uttered or published a false factual statement to a third party. Exercise good judgment and avoid engaging in personal attacks against others while using the social media forum or AWHONN social media pages.
12. Adhere to antitrust laws
    • Users are prohibited from using AWHONN social media to communicate about prices or terms of service, to exchange practice management or any other proprietary information, or otherwise communicate in a manner that may violate federal or state antitrust laws.
13. AWHONN online communities are member-only forums
    • AWHONN’s various online communities are a benefit of AWHONN membership and are administered by the organization for the sole use of AWHONN members. The sharing/forwarding of online discussions with nonmembers is prohibited.
14. Job postings are prohibited
    • AWHONN communities promote conversation, collaboration, and the exchange of information on the practice of patient care. Jobs may be posted in our career center here: https://careers.awhonn.org/employers/.
15. AWHONN online communities are proprietary forums
    • The AWHONN online communities are private message boards administered by AWHONN. All message board content is allowed at the discretion of AWHONN. The organization reserves the right to remove any message board content without notice and for any reason. AWHONN reserves the right to remove forums with inactivity of at least 12 months or more.
16. Adherence to the Code of Conduct
    • AWHONN shall determine, in its sole discretion, whether there has been a breach of the Code of Conduct and may take any action deemed appropriate. In order to preserve an environment that encourages respectful and meaningful dialogue, AWHONN reserves the right to remove content and suspend or terminate participation on all lists for anyone who violates these rules. If you note something problematic in one of the communities or online forums, please advise the AWHONN online administrator via membership@AWHONN.org.

Discussion Group Etiquette

Use the following guidelines to enhance your participation in the community of your choice:

• Stay on topic. Do not discuss irrelevant topics or post non-related links or images.
• Respect the opinions of your peers. If you feel the need to disagree, do so respectfully.
  Acknowledge that others are entitled to have their own perspective.
• Do not write anything that sounds angry or sarcastic even in humor. Without hearing your tone, your colleagues may not realize you are joking.
• Do not type in ALL CAPS. It could appear as if you are screaming.
• Check the most recent comments before you reply to a comment to ensure you are responding to the latest post.
• State concisely and clearly the topic of your comments in the subject line. This allows members to respond more appropriately to your posting and makes it easier for members to search the archives by subject.
• Send messages such as “thanks for the information” or “me, too” to individuals, not to the entire list. Do this by using the “Reply to Sender” link in every message.
• Do not send administrative messages, such as “remove me from the list,” to the group.
  Instead, use the web interface to change your settings or to remove yourself from a list. To change your email address, you do not need to remove yourself from the list and rejoin under your new email address; simply change your settings.
• Avoid excessively long posts. Limit word count to no more than 700 words. Additional content can be added as attachments.

Disciplinary Actions

Violations of this code may lead to:

• Content removal
• Suspension or termination of access to social media platforms
• Further disciplinary actions, including formal warnings or removal from communities

Disclaimer regarding Social Media Communities:

The views expressed on the various AWHONN online communities are those of the individual contributors. They do not, and should not, be construed as representing the views of the organization. AWHONN makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information posted on its various communities and assumes no responsibility or liability regarding the use or misuse of such information for any purpose. AWHONN disclaims any responsibility to maintain copies of any information posted or to assure that such information is deleted. Unless specifically stated otherwise, AWHONN does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, advice, guidance, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned on its online forums, and information from these forums should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. However, AWHONN retains the right to monitor posted information and remove messages or materials that it believes do not comply with its Code of Conduct.

Customer Code of Conduct

Introduction

We are committed to fostering respectful and constructive interactions between customers and our staff. This code outlines the expectations for all parties to ensure professional and productive engagements.

Customer Responsibilities

• Respectful Communication: We ask that all customers engage with our employees in a manner that is respectful, patient, and considerate. This includes listening carefully, speaking politely, and avoiding any language or behavior that may be deemed offensive, discriminatory, or threatening.
• Collaboration and Understanding: We understand that you may be experiencing stress or frustration, and we ask that you approach our team with the understanding that we are all working together towards common goals. Patience and cooperation are essential in ensuring smooth and productive interactions.
• Constructive Feedback: We encourage constructive feedback and collaboration. If you have concerns or suggestions, please share them thoughtfully and respectfully. We are committed to addressing your needs and will work together to find effective solutions.
• Confidentiality: We ask that you respect the privacy and confidentiality of all staff members, fellow customers, and the information shared by the organization. Personal or sensitive information should be shared only with appropriate parties, in accordance with privacy policies and regulations.
• Professionalism: We request that all customers engage in a professional manner when contacting or interacting with our team, whether in person, over the phone, or online. This includes being punctual, prepared, and polite.

Zero Tolerance

Harassment, threats, abusive or obscene language, or abusive behavior toward staff will not be tolerated and may result in the termination of services or legal action.

Disciplinary Actions

• Ending of conversation
• Formal warnings
• Suspension or termination of services
• Legal actions for severe misconduct

Enforcement of the Codes of Conduct

AWHONN takes violations of this Code of Conduct seriously. Any individual found in breach of the standards set forth in this policy may be subject to:

• A formal warning or written reprimand
• Removal of social media posts violating the policy
• Removal from current events and/or banning from future events or activities

AWHONN reserves the right to take immediate action if behavior is deemed unacceptable or harmful to others, the reputation of the association, or the nursing profession.

Appeal Process

Members can appeal disciplinary actions by providing a written explanation, including:

• Personal details and account of prior violations
• Reasons for reconsideration and supporting evidence

Submit appeals to: ethics@awhonn.org.

Respect for AWHONN Customers

At the Association of Women’s Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses (AWHONN), we are committed to fostering an environment of mutual respect, understanding, and professionalism in all of our interactions. Whether you are a member, a customer, or someone interested in our work, we expect everyone to engage with kindness, dignity, and courtesy. Likewise, our staff, volunteers, and representatives are dedicated to upholding these same values in every communication.

1. Respectful Communication 

Our staff is trained to actively listen, respond with empathy, and provide clear, respectful communication. We commit to addressing your concerns and questions with care, professionalism, and courtesy at all times.

2. Constructive and Solution-Oriented Interactions 

We are here to support you. If an issue arises, we will engage with a solutions-focused attitude, ensuring your concerns are addressed with professionalism and thoroughness. We aim to resolve issues with transparency and respect for your time and concerns.

3. Collaboration and Understanding 

Our employees are committed to creating a collaborative environment, recognizing that your needs are important, and we will always strive to assist you in a way that respects your circumstances and maintains a positive relationship.

4. Privacy and Confidentiality 

Our team upholds the highest standards of confidentiality and will ensure that your personal information, inquiries, and concerns are handled with the utmost care and respect. We will only disclose information in accordance with legal and organizational guidelines.

5. Zero Tolerance for Harassment or Abuse 

Our employees are here to assist and support you. We are committed to providing a safe and supportive workplace and will not tolerate any form of harassment or abuse from customers. We reserve the right to end any interaction that becomes disrespectful or harmful.

6. Professionalism in All Interactions 

Our employees are dedicated to maintaining professionalism in all of our interactions with customers. We will ensure that our responses are timely, clear, and accurate, and we will always strive to deliver the highest standard of service.

Conclusion 

A goal as AWHONN interacts with its members and customers is to foster an environment where both customers and employees can engage in a respectful, professional, and collaborative manner. We believe that when mutual respect guides our interactions, we can better support each other and achieve positive outcomes for all.

By adhering to this Code of Conduct, we contribute to an environment where everyone feels valued, heard, and respected. Together, we can continue to make a meaningful impact on the health and well-being of our communities.