title: Comparing the codes of ethics of the six signatory associations of the Mutual Recognition Agreement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Agreement for the Mutual Recognition of Professional Association Credentials (MRA) between six national associations provides a mutually negotiated expedited process for applying for certification in speech-language pathology by any of the signatory associations. Although the MRA recognizes common standards in academic and clinical practice and eases the process to have credentials recognized, an interesting concept is that SLPs who have membership in more than one association must adhere to the code of ethics in each association. Thus, as SLPs will need to abide by them the question then becomes, are the codes of ethics in the six national associations comparable?
  
  
  METHODS
  Using a content analysis procedure, the authors sought to identify similarities between the six codes of ethics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results revealed similarities between the six codes in areas such as responsibility to clients, professional conduct and practitioner competence.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings should not to be interpreted to imply that one code of ethics was better or more comprehensive than another, as each code of ethics must be understood and interpreted in temporal, situational and local cultural contexts. Rather, the discussion includes a proposal to create a unified document.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders, University of North Carolina at Greensboro , Greensboro, NC , USA.
authors.forename: Carrie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Stacey-Knight
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mayo
mesh_terms: D032781:Codes of Ethics; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D013066:Speech-Language Pathology / Q000941:ethics*
keywords: Ethical issues; cross-cultural; mutual recognition agreement; speech-language pathologists