Professional conduct, ethics, and unprofessional conduct
What this domain tests
Professional conduct questions test whether a licensee breached a duty in a way the Board can discipline. Montana law and Board rules define unprofessional conduct broadly; ethics supplies the underlying duties.
Core rules
- Core ethical duties include competence, patient autonomy, veracity, confidentiality, nondiscrimination, boundary respect, and practicing only within scope. Refer when a condition exceeds your training.
- Unprofessional conduct can include fraud or misrepresentation, billing for services not rendered, incompetence or negligence, practicing while impaired, violating infection-control or recordkeeping rules, aiding unlicensed practice, false advertising, fee-splitting, harassment, and failing to cooperate with a Board investigation.
- Informed refusal and abandonment matter: do not dismiss a patient mid-treatment without notice, an opportunity to obtain care, and records.
- Social media is not private. Posting identifiable patient information without authorization can violate both HIPAA and the Board’s conduct rules.
Worked example
A hygienist posts a before-and-after photo of a distinctive filling on Instagram without consent. Even with the face cropped, the patient may be identifiable from the restoration and caption. The Board may treat this as a confidentiality and unprofessional-conduct violation, separate from any HIPAA issue.
Traps
Do not assume unprofessional conduct requires intent; negligence and poor documentation can suffice. Do not confuse a malpractice claim with Board discipline-both can arise from one event. Do not use “office policy” as a defense to a rule.