Code of Conduct

To ensure the best possible experience for all community members, we have established some basic guidelines for participation. By participating in the ONS Communities, you understand and agree to the ONS Legal Notices.

Please take a moment to acquaint yourself with these important guidelines.  If you have questions about these guidelines or the tools themselves, contact ONS Customer Relations at communities@ons.org.

Questions about ONS should be directed to ONS Customer Relations at help@ons.org.

To build a civil/vibrant/professional dialogue, ONS reserves the right to moderate users, delete posts or terminate accounts for members who violate these rules.

 

The Rules: 

  • Do not attack others.  The discussions on the community platforms are meant to stimulate conversation and not to create contention.  Let others have their say, just as you may. 

  • Do not share information about certificate programs, certification tests, or assessment content. When taking a certification test or assessment, you agree to not disclose information about the test, assessment items, or answers in any format. That also includes online discussion. Violating the non-disclosure agreement may jeopardize your certification or your opportunity to become certified in the future.  

  • Do not post non-ONS commercial messages, including solicitations for money or donations, industry surveys, market-research opportunities, or links to such activities. If you believe your project or service information would benefit someone, reach out to them directly. Messages should not contain promotional material unrelated to ONS, such as advertisements, marketing content, special offers, job postings, product announcements, promotion of non-ONS members, or solicitations for services. ONS reserves the right to remove these types of messages and may ban sources of such solicitations. 

  • Members may share information about external educational conferences and webinars in the designated Educational Events Community, provided such postings disclose sponsorship status, do not directly compete with ONS signature products and events, and adhere to established guidelines for relevance and professionalism. ONS reserves the right to prioritize ONS-sponsored events and may implement monetization strategies for postings as appropriate. 

  • Use caution when discussing projects.  Information posted on any platform is available for all to see, and comments are subject to libel, and antitrust laws. 

  • All defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive or illegal materials are strictly prohibited and may be removed. 

  • Send your message only to the most appropriate platforms. 

  • Do not post anything that you would not want the world to see or that you would not want anyone to know came from you. 

  • Please note carefully all items listed in the disclaimer and legal rules below, particularly regarding the copyright ownership of information posted to the Community. 

  • Remember that ONS and other participants have the right to reproduce postings. 

  

Inclusivity at Oncology Nursing Society 

Oncology Nurses are as Diverse as the Communities They Serve. We Support Them All. 

At ONS, we achieve our mission by engaging and serving the oncology nursing community, a population composed of a wide variety of individuals who have many differences. As a membership organization, we are committed to respecting, accepting, and embracing the diversity of all our members, their employers, volunteers, employees, and other stakeholders. We empower everyone to succeed by promoting inclusive environments and equitable treatment through our chapters, events, resources, and workplaces. 
    

Recruiting for your study 

ONS members who are doing their own independent, oncology nursing–specific, and non-industry-sponsored research, for the purposes of fulfilling academic requirements or to support the work of those within roles which include conducting research are welcome to submit a request to solicit participation from fellow ONS members via the ONS Communities. 

To submit your request: 

  1. Visit ONS Clinical Helpdesk and click “Submit a Ticket”. 

  1. Select “Clinical – Research Survey Submissions” 

  1. Complete all required fields and submit.  Our ONS Clinical team will review your submission and respond with an approval decision with 48-72hrs. 

You will be required to submit a copy of the IRB approval or waiver for your study, a copy of any survey questions included as part of study participation, and a draft of your planned post to the ONS Communities.  Please note that all information you provide is on a non-confidential basis. ONS reserves the right to reject requests at our discretion. 

Once approved, you will be authorized to post one recruitment message to the All ONS Member community and one related specialty topic community. You are allowed to boost/repeat this post one additional time for a maximum of two posts for a single study. 

For any additional questions, please visit the ONS Clinical Helpdesk.     

External educational events 

Members interested in sharing details about educational events or professional development opportunities not affiliated with ONS may do so by adhering to the following guidelines: 

  • All posts must include event title, sponsoring organization, date/time, and target audience. 

  • Recommended post subject format:  Event name, event date, location (In-Person/Virtual)  

  • Details of event content should be included within the body of the post, in addition to attached PDFs, links, or QR codes.  This will improve searchability for users. 

  • Disclose if the event is supported through industry grant funding or other financial support. 

  • Posts may be repeated or boosted one time (for a total of two posts for any single event.) 

  • No direct sales or product promotions are permitted. 

  • Posts must be relevant to oncology nursing practice or nursing professional development. 

  • Events overlapping with ONS signature conferences or products may be restricted or require additional review. 

  • Repeated or inappropriate postings may result in removal or loss of posting privileges. 

Examples of acceptable posts: 

  • Announcements for educational conferences, webinars, or workshops that do not directly compete with ONS/ONCC’s products or events, including courses, publications, or conferences. 

  • Invitations to participate in external learning opportunities that complement ONS’s mission, such as national or international oncology nursing symposia. 

  • Information about academic courses, seminars, or research forums relevant to oncology nursing and not otherwise offered by ONS. 

 

Examples of unacceptable Posts: 

  • Posts promoting conferences, webinars, or certification programs that are direct competitors to ONS/ONCC’s products or signature events. 

  • Advertisements for industry or commercial products, services, events, or resources. 

  • Event postings without full disclosure of sponsors or organizational affiliations. 

  • Repeated or spam submissions intended to circumvent community guidelines or the moderation process. 

 

Certification Review Courses  

Sharing information about certification review courses is a great way to support your professional colleagues in their pursuit of certification.  Information about these and other study resources are available on the ONCC Website at https://www.oncc.org/study-resources.   To share your review course with the general nursing audience, please contact ONCC at oncc@oncc.org to have your event added to their listing.  Posts about certification review courses are not permitted in the All Member ONS Community or the Educational Events Community.   

Posting information about certification review courses sponsored by your local chapter and relevant to ONCC certifications (such as OCN, BMTCN, AOCNP, etc.) is permitted within your local ONS Chapter Community. 

 

Some tips to help you maintain good etiquette when reproducing content: 

  • Be courteous.  Please ask participants for permission to republish their words elsewhere (especially if elsewhere would be a publicly viewable setting). 

  • When citing Community discussions, please include a link back to the original discussion or to the Community homepage 

Community Etiquette 

Transparency is very important in gaining trust in online relationships. Therefore, unless you are posting a case study for a patient, be clear about who you are and who you work for when posting on any platform. Please take the time to review the HIPAA Privacy Rules to ensure patient medical information is kept private. 

The ONS Communities, and sites are provided as a service of the Oncology Nursing Society.  ONS is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on these sites by others.  ONS disclaims all warranties regarding information posted on these sites, whether posted by ONS or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness.  Please refer to the ONS Terms of Use before utilizing the ONS Communities. 

Community Inactivity 

ONS regularly reviews communities to ensure they remain active, relevant, and aligned with the needs of our members. ONS reserves the right to remove a community that has been inactive for six months, defined as the absence of meaningful activity. In these cases, members may be encouraged to join another, more active community that aligns with their interests. 

In some cases, a community may be identified as at risk for removal due to factors such as sustained low participation or overlapping purpose with another community. When this happens, ONS carefully evaluates engagement and explores options to strengthen or evolve the community before any final decision is made. If a decision is made to remove a community, members will be notified in advance and provided with clear information about the timeline. 

 

Violation Policy for ONS Community Members 

To keep an environment that encourages both civil and energized discussions, ONS reserves the right to suspend, remove content, or terminate participation for members who violate the previously stated rules. 

If the violation is identified, the user will receive a message from ONS with guidance/examples of proper posting. The user will be monitored for 30 days. After a 3rd violation, the user will lose their community access.  Requests for returned access can be sent to communities@ons.org for consideration.  
    

The Legal Stuff

This site is provided as a service for the members of Oncology Nursing Society.  Oncology Nursing Society is not responsible for the opinions and information posted on this site by others. We disclaim all warranties with regard to information posted on this site, whether posted by Oncology Nursing Society or any third party; this disclaimer includes all implied warranties of merchantability and fitness. In no event shall Oncology Nursing Society be liable for any special, indirect, or consequential damages or any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, arising out of or in connection with the use or performance of any information posted on this site.

Do not post any defamatory, abusive, profane, threatening, offensive, or illegal materials. Do not post any information or other material protected by copyright without the permission of the copyright owner. By posting material, the posting party warrants and represents that he or she owns the copyright with respect to such material or has received permission from the copyright owner. In addition, the posting party grants Oncology Nursing Society and users of this site the nonexclusive right and license to display, copy, publish, distribute, transmit, print, and use such information or other material.

Messages should not be posted if they encourage or facilitate members to arrive at any agreement that either expressly or impliedly leads to price fixing, a boycott of another's business, or other conduct intended to illegally restrict free trade. Messages that encourage or facilitate an agreement about the following subjects are inappropriate: prices, discounts, or terms or conditions of sale; salaries; profits, profit margins, or cost data; market shares, sales territories, or markets; allocation of customers or territories; or selection, rejection, or termination of customers or suppliers.

Oncology Nursing Society does not actively monitor the site for inappropriate postings and does not on its own undertake editorial control of postings. However, in the event that any inappropriate posting is brought to the attention of Oncology Nursing Society we will take all appropriate action.

Oncology Nursing Society reserves the right to terminate access to any user who does not abide by these guidelines.