The NDC Institute: Code of Ethics

About The NDC Institute

Pamela Douglas Consulting is a social enterprise, trading as 'The NDC Institute', and as 'Dr Pam and the Possums programs'. We are a highly ethical, values-based organisation.

Dr Pamela Douglas researches and educates parents and health professionals in the evidence-based programs known as Neuroprotective Developmental Care (NDC), or the Possums programs. There is no difference between NDC and the Possums programs.

The development of our research and education programs comprises many years of largely unfunded work. Dr Douglas values integrity and place the best interests of families over commercial benefit. Our project is independent and sells educational programs in order to grow financially so that we can continue with our education and research.

The values of The NDC Institute

Joy: We aim to grow joy in early life experiences of parents with babies and toddlers, and also in our workplaces.
Empowerment: We aim to empower our community, whether a parent caring for a small child, a health professional offering a consultation, an educator or provider working with clients, or a member of our management team developing a new idea.
Authenticity: We aim to operate with integrity, honesty and genuineness. This is paramount to our identity and to building trust with our stakeholders and with those working within our organisation.
Innovation: We are built on innovation. We aim to embrace evidence-based innovation in our programs, our operational procedures and our marketing strategy.
Diversity: Our programs and our workplaces are committed to nurturing diversity of race and ethnic heritage, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
Respect: Our programs and our workplaces are committed to respectful communications at all times, and we have zero tolerance of bullying behaviours.
Integrity: We are committed to honesty and transparency in our governance processes.

Objectives of our Code of Ethics

Our Code of Ethics

Gives NDC Practitioners guidelines on ethics, professional standards and stance on various matters
Guides individual NDC Practitioners concerning their ethical obligations to The NDC Institute
Does not replace each NDC Practitioner’s obligation to comply with the Codes of Conduct of their respective professional organisations
Protects The NDC Institute’s values, brand and intellectual property
Guides the public and consumers of services and any materials and resources published by Dr Pamela Douglas concerning ethical use of those materials
Stipulates guidelines for evaluation of the conduct of NDC Practitioners.

This Code of Ethics is not a substitute for requirements outlined in National Law, other relevant legislation, or professional Codes of Ethics. This Code of Ethics will be reviewed every two years.

Agreement to Code of Ethics

By registering for any of our health professional, educator or provider training options, you are agreeing to abide by this Code of Ethics.
All who register for NDC upskilling will be also required to tick a box under the “Terms and Conditions” saying they have read and agree to abiding by the Code of Ethics.
Finally, you will be required to respond to some statements under the Getting Started section of your course. A link to the Code of Ethics is available.

Part 1: Right to use of the NDC or Possums name and intellectual property in your promotional materials online, hardcopy, in social media, or through your reception staff

We acknowledge the commercial pressures faced by health care professionals, educators, and care providers, who often need to deliver their services for parents and babies as viable businesses.

The NDC or Possums programs and the Possums name have a growing commercial and reputational value, both domestically and internationally, because our programs are authentic, clinically effective, and aligned with the latest research. NDC is a movement for the common good, and we do not support efforts to use our name for any individual or business’s commercial or reputational benefit, in a way which does not give back to The NDC Institute in accordance with this Code of Ethics, or which may harm our organisation or impact negatively upon our reputation.

We have an ethos of giving generously to the community for the benefit of parents and health professionals and expect those using our name for commercial and reputational benefit to also give back to our organisation. Our world is increasingly driven by commercial interests, which often fail to respect the facts or misrepresent the facts. We believe that each individual’s day-by-day decisions to support ethical enterprises is the only way forward to a better and more equitable future for our communities and for our planet.

Promotion of your services if you are an NDC Practitioner

We expect the highest levels of integrity from those using the NDC or Possums name as part of the promotion of their services. We expect that all NDC practitioners are values-aligned, committed to our NDC movement for change in the care of parents with infants, and will adhere to this Code of Ethics.

All use of the Possums or NDC names to promote your services online, in publications, brochures, presentations or by your reception staff, is strictly constrained by this Code of Ethics.

Only individual NDC Practitioners are entitled to promote their services using the respective Possums name and NDC qualification. Only individual NDC Practitioners can use the relevant, copyrighted NDC Resources, including handouts for parents.

Only organisations contractually licenced to use the Possums Clinic or a similar contractually agreed name can do so in promotions. In this way, we will be able to maintain our reputation for high calibre services.

We expect that:

You will use the NDC resources that are available in the dashboard and Resource Hub for education of yourself and your patients only

You will not share the NDC resources with another professional who is not a member of The NDC Institute

Not share the NDC resources with any other health professional, educator, provider or person who is not your client or patient
Not make any of the NDC resources available on the internet or social media or publish them in any format or forum.

The NDC Institute is committed to safeguarding the NDC or Possums intellectual property. If it has come to your attention that someone is violating this Code of Ethics, which governs use of the Possums or NDC name, qualifications, and materials, we request that you notify us by emailing our general manager Tom Douglas-Powell at tom@pameladouglas.com.au

Mandatory use of ndcinstitute.com.au or drpam.au when you promote your NDC or Possums services or education

If you are entitled to use Possums or NDC in your promotions, it is mandatory to link back to the ndcinstitute.com.au website next to your use of this qualification. This benefits your patients by directing them to free resources in addition to the paid parent programs, and also helps support our organisation so that we can continue with ongoing education and research.

If you do not wish to, or are ineligible to, formally upskill as an NDC Practitioner

We aim to promote knowledge about NDC or the Possums programs to all health professionals, educators and providers working with families and continue to make a wealth of educational and publication resource freely available. We are delighted when our programs are integrated into clinical services. We acknowledge that not all health professionals, educators or providers will wish to engage in formal upskilling. We request that those health professionals, educators and providers who do not wish to engage in NDC upskilling support us by ethically acknowledging our work by name when you use it, and also by directing your patients to the free resources available on The NDC Institute’s website. In this case, we expect that use of our programs, to the extent that you’ve had exposure to them, will occur in your individual private clinical settings only.

Using what you know of the NDC or Possums programs in your clinical services is not the same as having the right to use the NDC or Possums name to promote your services commercially for patient acquisition and enhancement of your reputation.

It is not ethical to take what you know of an NDC or Possums program and publicly promote your services using our name to attract patients and clients, if you are not an NDC Practitioner.

Completing an NDC pathway is a time intensive and rigorous process intended to assure high quality of clinical service delivery, or parent education. It is not possible to achieve this level of skill by reading freely available materials, or by participating in Masterclasses alone, without participating in the accreditation process. The Possums name is not to be used in promotion of a health professional’s, educator’s or provider’s services or by your reception staff to direct patients to your services, even when you have participated in the Masterclasses.

If you like our program and wish to use it to acquire and help clients or patients, we request that you participate in our NDC Accreditation.

If you like our program but feel unable to participate in our upskilling program, please email our general manager Tom Douglas-Powell to discuss entering into an Ethical Agreement with us.

Part 2 - Consequences if an individual or organisation fails to comply with this Code of Ethics**

Inappropriate use of Possums name or NDC qualification in promotions, either online, hardcopy, or in response to reception inquiries

If the NDC or Possums qualifications are used inappropriately or in a misleading way for your commercial or reputation benefit, without adhering to this Code of Ethics, we will send a written warning. If you do not comply with our request within a fortnight, we reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to revoke your right to use the NDC Accreditation qualification.

If an organisation has at any time in the past misrepresented its relationship with the NDC or Possums programs, The NDC Institute will, at our sole discretion, revoke the right of any practitioner or educator within that organisation or associated with that organisation to have an NDC or Possums qualification. We will not, at our sole discretion, upskill any health professional, educator or provider who is employed by, or is an independent contractor with, or associated with the promotions of, any business run by an individual or owner who has previously misrepresented or continues to misrepresent their relationship with the Possums programs or NDC.

Similarly, at our sole discretion, we will not upskill any health professional, educator or provider who is employed by or is a contractor in an organisation in which another person (employed or contractor) has at some time misrepresented their relationship with the Possums programs or NDC, using our brand, name or qualifications unethically.

If you are concerned that you’ve been mistaken in the way you understood your rights to use of NDC or the Possums programs, please email our general manager Tom Douglas-Powell at tom@pameladouglas.com.au. (We acknowledge that the events of 2023, during which the charity Possums for Mothers and Babies, trading as The Possums Collective, closed, have been confusing to the public and to health professionals.)

Failure to comply with mandatory promotion of either ndcinstitute.com.au or drpam.au if you are using the Possums or NDC name to promote your services

If you fail to promote our website alongside your use of the NDC or Possums name in your promotions, we will give you written warning. If you fail to comply within a fortnight, we will revoke your NDC Accreditation qualification at our sole discretion.

Failure to be content aligned in your promotions or practice

If you promote your NDC qualification, and yet your advertising materials also promote approaches to infant care that are not aligned with, or which contradict, the programs known as NDC or the Possums programs, we will issue you with a written warning. If you fail to comply to our requests within a fortnight, we will revoke your right to use the qualification to promote your services or education offerings, at our sole discretion.

Non-compliance process

Any non-compliance with our Code of Ethics after an initial warning letter will trigger a review. The review process will be as follows:

Management becomes aware of a breech or possible breech of Code of Ethics
The Ethics Committee convenes, consisting of:
- Medical Director Dr Pamela Douglas (Chair of Working Party)
- Education manager
- General manager Tom Douglas-Powell
Working party investigates breech or possible breech of Code of Ethics
Working party makes its recommendations for action to the Board of Directors. Actions may include:
- Another warning notice
- Withdrawal of NDC Status
Concerned NDC Practitioner or NDC pathway member is informed in writing by the Chair
Concerned NDC Practitioner or NDC pathway member has right of appeal. This must be done in writing to the Chair within 7 days of receiving the notification from the board. The Working Party has the right to withdraw rights to use NDC status at its sole discretion
If no appeal is lodged and the Working Party decides to revoke your right to use the Possums qualification, they will give you two weeks notice (from the date of the initial letter) and it is mandatory that you:
- Remove NDC or Possums qualification or reference from your website, all social media platforms, email signature, promotional material, information given by your reception staff, and physical signage or certificates in your practice.
If you do not comply, The NDC Institute will issue a public notice concerning revocation of your right to use the Possums or NDC name or qualification.

Thank you for your understanding as we work together to grow joy in early life.

Definitions

NDC: Neuroprotective Developmental Care

The NDC Institute: A trading name of Pamela Douglas Consulting.

NDC Accreditation: Refers to the process of receiving accreditation. The Code of Ethics applies to those who have successfully received NDC Accredited Practitioner status. The NDC Accreditation cycle is annual, upon which the NDC Practitioner may choose to either re-enrol in the NDC Accreditation Pathway, or Maintenance of NDC Accreditation. For the purposes of this document, an NDC Practitioner may be either in the Accreditation Pathway, or a member of Maintenance.

NDC Practitioner: Refers to a registered health professional who has completed the NDC Accreditation pathway and is licensed to use the NDC Accredited logo.

Intellectual Property: Includes all training materials and resources lent to you for your use during the NDC Accreditation or Maintenance of NDC Accreditation memberships.

NDC Resources: Refers to the PDFS, JPEGS, word documents, PowerPoints, and videos that are available in the NDC Accreditation and Maintenance of NDC Accreditation resources, shared with you by Pamela Douglas Consulting Trust. All resource materials are copyrighted and belong to The NDC Institute.