ADAPT Functional Medicine Practitioner Code of Conduct

The ADAPT Training Programs are designed as a safe space where all students feel welcome and valued. This Code of Conduct is designed to provide guidelines for you when interacting with other students, Kresser Institute faculty and staff, and your patients/clients. This code applies to our graduates and certified practitioners as well. Please read this document carefully.

Table of Contents

1. ADAPT Community Standards
2. ADAPT Practitioner Code of Professionalism and Etiquette
3. Discussion Forum Posting Guidelines
4. Violations of the Code of Conduct
5. Additional Policies

Section 1: ADAPT Community Standards

To ensure the ADAPT Community remains a welcoming space for all students, graduates, and faculty, members must adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Support and Encourage
   1. We will not condone negative or unprofessional comments toward other Community members.
   2. Offer constructive criticism or voice a dissenting opinion, but don’t be rude. Tone of voice doesn’t always translate well online, so err on the side of caution and kindness. Please consider the impact your comments may have on others, and keep them supportive and respectful.
   3. Always assume positive intent when reading/hearing feedback from others.
2. Protect Privacy
   1. During the course, students may reveal personal information about themselves. Students are required to keep this information confidential and should treat the privacy of other students as they would any outside client or patient.
3. Treat Others with Respect
   1. The following are prohibited:
      1. Graphic, obscene, or explicit language or images
      2. Discrimination or harassment based on an individual’s sex, race, color, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, marital status, medical condition, veteran status, disability, or any other legally protected classification
      3. Sexual harassment or stalking
      4. Bullying or intimidation
4. Seek Appropriate Support
   1. The Kresser Institute has a robust support system in place for students. We offer email and phone support, and students can ask questions in the Discussion Forum and during live sessions. However, Kresser Institute’s resources are not infinite and we are unable to accommodate the following:
      1. Training in basic computer skills: If you do not have strong computer skills before you start the course, please line up a friend or relative to teach you things like managing passwords, filling out forms, downloading handouts, playing audio and video files, etc.
      2. Excessive requests for email/phone contact: While we are happy to help you solve a specific issue, we are unable to offer continuous emotional or academic support. Please seek support from family, friends, other students, or outside tutors, if you are in need of ongoing personalized support.
   2. Should you have a personal grievance or frustration, please direct your concerns to the Kresser Institute support team. We are here to help. We ask that you refrain from airing grievances during live sessions or in the Discussion Forum, as this detracts from other students’ experiences and misappropriates valuable class time.
5. Respect Intellectual Property
   1. We encourage the discussion of ADAPT course content, but students are not allowed to share course materials such as handouts, transcripts, recordings, etc. with anyone who is not enrolled in the course.
      1. The one exception to this is client/patient handouts provided in the Handout Generator, which may be shared privately with your patients but not with the general public.
   2. Students are also restricted from sharing intellectual property that belongs to any other organization, without permission from that organization.
6. No Spam
   1. No third-party solicitations, ads, or self-promotion, please. This includes the promotion of any financial, commercial, or non-governmental agency. No one likes spam. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any commercial or non-commercial agency.

Section 2: ADAPT Practitioner Code of Professionalism and Etiquette

As ADAPT Practitioner Training Program students, graduates, and certified practitioners, we continue to work on and develop the life skill of awareness—an awareness of ourselves and our surroundings, and an awareness of our intentions and impact on others. Emotional intelligence, or EQ, as it is sometimes called, describes emotionally aware individuals as those with: 

• Self-awareness
• Self-management
• Other awareness
• Relationship management (our ability to stay emotionally engaged and respectful of another peer’s experience)

We’re asking each of you to practice awareness, both of self and other, as you participate in our live instructor sessions.  

Below we’ve provided you with important ideas and actions on which we encourage ongoing consideration, reflection, and practice as you participate with your fellow classmates online in the PTP. These guidelines also apply to interactions with your patients and within the program, including all live sessions.

Please be cognizant that these are critical considerations as you move into your student and professional practitioner roles. In addition, be aware that what might be acceptable behavior in a classroom situation may NOT be acceptable behavior as a student or professional interacting with a patient or even a practice peer. Please feel free to ask questions and discuss these further in the Forum or with faculty.

1. Begin practicing your professional skills and how you will show up for your upcoming client sessions now, as a student in the program during the live sessions. Commit to showing up fully present and professional.
2. Whereas connection is fundamental to the patient relationship and efficacy, disconnection can have a negative effect on the impact of our effectiveness as practitioners. Therefore, make every effort to minimize disconnection.
3. Be in a quiet, private location where you will not be disturbed, you can give your full attention to your patient/classmates, and your patient/classmates’s privacy and confidentiality is ensured.
4. Be mindfully aware of your own surroundings and what may be distracting to others. Reduce avoidable distractions (e.g., loud noise in the background, moving backgrounds [in a car, out for a walk], cats, dogs) and seek to create a solid learning environment for all.
5. For confidentiality and privacy considerations, please do not work with a patient or fellow classmate  in a public space where others can overhear (e.g., cafés, gyms, restaurants).
6. Other considerations:
   1. Your video background is clean and professional and your face is well-lit.
   2. No service calls are scheduled to be made to the home that will require your attention.
   3. You have eaten and have water at hand.
   4. You have an uncluttered workspace with the ability to take notes.
   5. Your mobile phone is silent, out of sight, and out of reach.
   6. You are logged out of social media and email accounts.
   7. You have disabled potentially distracting chimes, pop-ups, and other notifications.
   8. The volume on your computer is adjusted so that your patient/client is able to hear and be heard clearly.
   9. You have a strong, stable internet connection to facilitate uninterrupted communication.
   10. You are not in a moving vehicle or any other place where your connection is not stable or reliable.

Section 3: Discussion Forum Posting Guidelines

1. Honor Patient Privacy

We do not allow the sharing of confidential patient information such as names and contact information. If you share a patient case, please refrain from revealing identifying information and make sure that any screenshots or documents shared have that information cropped out or blurred.

Any medical information and/or resources posted in the student Forum needs to be in alignment with and meet scientific evidence guidelines set forth in the “Guide to Scientific Evidence” course handout.

2. Avoid Promotions

We do not allow third party solicitations or advertisements. This includes promotion or endorsement of any financial, commercial or non-governmental agency. Similarly, we do not allow attempts to defame or defraud any commercial or non-commercial agency.

3. Be Kind and Courteous

We do not allow negative or unprofessional comments toward other group members — keep it civil.

We do not allow graphic, obscene, explicit or racial comments or submissions nor do we allow comments that are abusive, hateful or intended to defame anyone or any organization.

4. Be Civil

We do not allow comments that suggest or encourage illegal activity.

5. Seek Out Guidance and Support

Please email support@kresserinstitute.com for technical and customer support issues, and refrain from posting them to this group and/or contacting support staff directly by private message in the forum. We are able to offer superior support if support tickets are all funneled through one source.

We value the opinions of our students and would love to hear your comments, ideas, and suggestions. However, please do not post content suggestions in the forum. Please use the Contact Customer Support form to give feedback about the course or faculty, suggestions regarding improving course content, or to flag minor content errors. We look into all of these suggestions and requests individually and will do our best to make adjustments where we can.

You participate at your own risk, taking personal responsibility for your comments, your username and any information provided.

The appearance of external links on this page does not constitute official endorsement on behalf of the Kresser Institute or its employees.

Section 4: Violations of the Code of Conduct

How can I report an issue regarding the Code of Conduct?

If you have a student, graduate, alumni,  faculty member, or staff member that you feel is violating the code of conduct, you may take the following actions:

• Flag a post in the Discussion Forum.
• Send a private message to Kresser faculty or staff in the chat box during a live session.
• Email Kresser Institute Support at support@kresserinstitute.com.

What happens if a violation of the ADAPT Code of Conduct is reported?

Kresser Institute takes all violations of the Code of Conduct seriously. The Practitioner Training Program Director will review all reports. If a violation has occurred, Kresser Institute will send a written warning, and may take any of the following actions, depending on the nature and severity of the violation:

• Remove posts from the Community Forum.
• Mute or remove a student during a live session.
• Require the student to meet with faculty.
• Temporarily or permanently remove the student’s privilege to post in the Community Forum.
• Expel the student from the course without a refund.
• Revoke the student’s ADAPT functional medicine practitioner certification.

Section 5: Additional Policies

In addition to the standards set forth above, our organizational policies also include the PTP Terms & Conditions, Terms of Service, and Privacy Policy.