Great news…your employer is footing the bill for you to attend a conference. Not only will you receive continuing education credit but the meeting location is known for its attractions, restaurants and shopping. In one ear you hear a voice saying, “let the learning begin!” In the other ear, you hear, “The weather is too nice to be stuck inside, live a little!” Which path do you follow?
Consider this…if your employer is financing this learning experience, then s/he expects you to return with knowledge, skills and information to perform your job more adeptly. The employer has a vested interest in investing in your training—s/he is hoping that you will apply your new knowledge and improve the practice’s performance.
Before you fall victim to the Siren’s song of a sunny day and tropical breeze and forsake the seminar room for the shimmering beach, collect your thoughts. When your employer agreed to cover this mind expanding experience and you accepted, you entered into a contract--the employer assumed the cost of registration fee and the attendee implicitly agreed to attend classes and acquire new skills and knowledge.
Under the terms of this agreement, if an attendee skips out early, sleeps in or misses sessions, the employer can claim that the contract is breached. By doing so, the attendee has violated his/her moral obligation to the employer.
Furthermore, even employees who are physically present at conference sessions but are distracted by personal emails and Facebook posts and are not focused on the discussions and presentations, can be accused of abdicating their duty to learn, and therefore acting unethically. The ethical implications of behavior pivot on the implicit expectations of the attendee and the employer.
But what if it’s the employer who is asking the employee to play fast and loose with attendance requirements? For example, an employer purchases one registration but asks employees to share a badge and alternate attendance at sessions. If your employer is promoting this type of behavior, then it is imperative that you familiarize yourself with the conference terms and conditions, specifically whether there is a provision that prevents swapping, sharing or exchanging registration and/or badges. If the practice is not allowed, alert the employer who may not be aware of the policy.
Getting credit where credit is due
Once the meeting concludes, the next step is to submit information for licensure/certification requirements. Although there has been some badge sharing, missed sessions and early departures, the official record shows that all requirements have been fulfilled. Should this information be submitted for full credit? The short answer is… NO!
Although the registered attendee may receive full credit for the conference, regardless of whether badge swapping occurred, associations like VHMA operate on the honor system and require members to self-report continuing education attendance. Submitting false information or misrepresenting the number of sessions attended is a violation of the honor code and unethical. Many organizations and institutions that employ an honor code charge their members with a twofold responsibility: to remain truthful and honest and to report those who violate the code. Therefore, even having information that a colleague is submitting false information for licensure/certification requirements, requires that the transgression be reported.
The simple and ethical rule for submitting documentation for licensure/certification credit: only submit courses that you attended. There are no ifs, ands, or buts, or gray areas: if you weren’t there, you cannot claim it.
Attending a continuing education event without nurturing relationships with colleagues, exploring a new location and taking advantage of special events is a missed opportunity. But while you are enjoying the experience, be sure that you are not compromising your responsibility to your employer and misrepresenting the learning experience. Sometimes circumventing rules can be easy, but the real test of character is whether you can take the moral high road and do the right thing. By choosing the ethical approach you are maintaining your professional integrity, upholding the trust your supervisors and colleagues have placed in you and strengthening your professional skills.