Scope of Practice
Also called: scope, practising within scope, boundaries of competence
Definition
The range of activities a person is qualified and authorised to perform, set by their credential, their training, and their supervisor's direction. For technicians it centres on implementing plans as written; designing, modifying, discontinuing, and interpreting them sit with the supervising analyst, who remains responsible for the work.
In plain language
What you are trained and allowed to do. Technicians carry out the plan as written. Changing the plan or deciding what it means is the supervisor's job.
Examples
A technician runs a programme exactly as written and reports that it no longer seems to be working.
Reporting is in scope; changing the programme is not.
A technician tells their supervisor they have not been trained on a procedure before being asked to run it.
Not scope of practice
Adjusting a reinforcement schedule mid-session because it seems too easy, without the supervisor knowing.
Telling a parent what a behavior means or what should change in the plan, which is interpretation.
Commonly confused with
See also
Written from
- bacb-rbt-ethics-code-2 — Scope of practice and competence
- bacb-ethics-code-2022 — Boundaries of competence
Written from the structure of both ethics codes. Their text is not reproduced; they are cited as pointers.
This entry has not yet been through clinical review. Treat it as a draft.