Chapter 3: Professional Ethics and Arizona Statutes (Mandatory) 3 CE Hours
Learning objectives After completing this course, the learner will be able to: Discuss your ethical responsibility to the profession. Explain your duties and responsibilities to the families you serve. Explain the importance and need for confidentiality. Implicit bias in healthcare Implicit bias significantly affects how healthcare professionals perceive and make treatment decisions, ultimately resulting in disparities in health outcomes. These biases, often unconscious and unintentional, can shape behavior and produce differences in medical care along various lines, including race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and socioeconomic status. Healthcare disparities stemming from implicit bias can manifest in several ways. For example, a healthcare provider might unconsciously give less attention to a patient or make assumptions about their medical needs based on race, gender, or age. The unconscious assumptions can lead to delayed or inadequate care, misdiagnoses, or inappropriate treatments, all of which can adversely impact health outcomes. Addressing
List a number of funeral-related organizations that teach their own codes of ethics. Describe your oversight responsibilities in dealing with third- party contractors or other service professionals. Understand your professional duties and responsibilities under Arizona law. implicit bias in healthcare is crucial for achieving equity in medical treatment. Strategies to combat these biases involve education and awareness programs for healthcare professionals. These programs help individuals recognize and acknowledge their biases, fostering a more empathetic and unbiased approach to patient care. Additionally, implementing policies and procedures prioritizing equitable treatment for all patients can play a pivotal role in reducing healthcare disparities. Ultimately, confronting implicit bias in healthcare is essential to creating a more just and equitable healthcare system where everyone receives fair and equal treatment regardless of their background or characteristics.
PART 1 - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Introduction Professional ethics is a vast field of study, with categories and subcategories relating to every conceivable topic and issue. Many medical and health-related disciplines establish their own ethical codes and standards of conduct, which encapsulate the compiled wisdom of countless individuals and years of professional experience. Their study offers practitioners the opportunity to learn from their predecessors’ mistakes instead of their own. Unlike personal ethics, which are flexible and open to debate, professional ethical codes are formally defined, mandatory standards of conduct established by and for members of professional associations to ensure quality and integrity in the profession. Professionalism is a combination of individual responsibility—personal responsibility on the part of each member of the professional community—combined with the collective responsibility of a formal group or association of practitioners. Ethics refers to principles of right or good conduct. Professional ethics in funeral services means the application of guiding principles of right conduct to the study, practice, and business of funeral service. Professional obligations and responsibilities Every decision you make that affects another individual has an ethical or moral dimension to it. Ethical standards are written into our laws, but ethics goes beyond what is strictly legal. Laws are associated with minimum requirements, while ethical standards appeal to an even higher level of responsibility regarding the The family Your first responsibility is to the wishes of the bereaved family. Family members should be provided counsel and treated in a caring and ethical manner. The family should be provided a copy of the funeral home’s general price list (GPL). Many also find
This course addresses a range of issues of concern to the professional funeral director and staff and introduces a number of concepts important to its ethical practice. Successful completion of the course will equip you with the basic concepts and rationale for ethical decision-making in your practice, to help to navigate unknown ethical territory, identify questionable behavior, and develop a sense for “red flags” of potential conflict, as well as take steps to resolve these issues. Equally important, it will help you know when to seek professional guidance with a supervisor or mentor in the industry or turn to other appropriate resources for professional assistance. Because virtually all state licensing authorities, certifying/ accrediting agencies, and professional associations establish their own standards of conduct and ethical guidelines for their members, you will need to refer directly to the organizations and academic or training institutions with which you are affiliated, as well as state, local, and national associations, to review the ethical guidelines that apply specifically to you and your practice. You may also want to refer to literature or websites of prominent professional organizations such as the Arizona Funeral, Cemetery and Cremation Association (https://azfcca. org/about/); the National Funeral Directors Association (NFDA; https://nfda.org/about-nfda/code-of-professional-conduct); or the International Cemetery, Cremation and Funeral Association (ICCFA; https://iccfa.com). right thing to do. Although funeral practitioners, colleagues, and family members are equally capable of showing poor judgment or acting irrationally, licensed practitioners are bound by their professional affiliation to act responsibly, even when others do not.
a copy of the Federal Trade Commission’s consumer guide to services and products useful (https://consumer.ftc.gov/shopping- and-donating/funerals).
EliteLearning.com/Funeral
Book Code: FAZ0724
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