(a)
The purpose of this section is to identify for physician assistants licensed by
the State Board of Medical Examiners conduct which shall be deemed sexual
misconduct.
(b) As used in this
section, the following terms have the following meanings unless the context
clearly indicates otherwise:
"Patient" means any person who is the recipient of a
professional service rendered by a physician assistant relating to
treatment.
"Patient-physician assistant relationship" means a
relationship between a physician assistant and a patient wherein the licensee
owes a continuing duty to the patient to render physician assistant services
consistent with his or her training and experience.
"Sexual contact" means the knowing touching of a person's
body directly or through clothing, where the circumstances surrounding the
touching would be construed by a reasonable person to be motivated by the
licensee's own prurient interest or for sexual arousal or gratification.
"Sexual contact" includes, but is not limited to, the imposition of a part of
the licensee's body upon a part of the patient's body, sexual penetration, or
the insertion or imposition of any object or any part of a licensee or
patient's body into or near the genital, anal or other opening of the other
person's body.
"Sexual harassment" means solicitation of any sexual act,
physical advances, or verbal or non-verbal conduct that is sexual in nature,
and which occurs in connection with a licensee's activities or role as a
provider of physician assistant services, and that either: is unwelcome, is
offensive to a reasonable person, or creates a hostile workplace environment,
and the licensee knows, should know, or is told this; or is sufficiently severe
or intense to be abusive to a reasonable person in that context. "Sexual
harassment" may consist of a single extreme or severe act or of multiple acts
and may include conduct of a licensee with a patient, co-worker, employee,
student or supervisee whether or not such individual is in a subordinate
position to the licensee. "Sexual harassment" may also include conduct of a
nonsexual nature if it is based on the sex of an individual.
"Spouse" means either the husband or wife of the licensee or
an individual involved in a long-term committed relationship with the
licensee.
(c) A
licensee
shall not engage in sexual contact with a patient with whom he or she has a
patient-physician assistant relationship. The patient-physician assistant
relationship is ongoing for purposes of this section, unless:
1. Physician assistant services are actively
terminated by way of written notice to the patient and is documented in the
patient record; or
2. The last
physician assistant services were rendered more than one year ago.
(d) A licensee shall not seek or
solicit sexual contact with a patient with whom he or she has a
patient-physician assistant relationship and shall not seek or solicit sexual
contact with any person in exchange for professional services.
(e) A licensee shall not engage in any
discussion of an intimate sexual nature with a patient, unless that discussion
is related to legitimate patient needs. Such discussion shall not include
disclosure by the licensee of his or her own sexual relationships.
(f) A licensee shall provide privacy and
examination conditions which prevent the exposure of the unclothed body of the
patient unless necessary to the professional services rendered.
(g) A licensee shall not engage in sexual
harassment whether in a professional setting such as an office, hospital,
residence or health care facility, or outside of the professional
setting.
(h) A licensee shall not
engage in any other activity, such as, but not limited to, voyeurism or
exposure of the genitalia of the licensee, which would lead a reasonable person
to believe that the activity serves the licensee's personal prurient interest
or is for the sexual arousal, the sexual gratification or the sexual abuse of
the licensee or patient.
(i)
Violation of any of the prohibitions or directives set forth in (c) through (h)
above shall be deemed to constitute gross or repeated malpractice pursuant to
45:1-21(c) or (d)
or professional misconduct pursuant to
45:1-21(e).
(j) Nothing in this section shall be
construed to prevent a licensee from rendering physician assistant services to
a spouse, as defined in (b) above, providing that the rendering of such
physician assistant services is consistent with accepted standards of physician
assistants and that the performance of physician assistant services is not
utilized to exploit the patient spouse for the sexual arousal or sexual
gratification of the licensee.
(k)
It shall not be a defense to any action under this section that:
1. The patient solicited or consented to
sexual contact with the licensee; or
2. The licensee is in love with or held
affection for the patient.
