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Ethical Issues and Decision Making, 2nd Edition: Summary
Unlike ethics, laws are defined by the government based on concepts of justice and equality and provide a set of enforced rules that affect liberty, harm, and preventing harm . PTs and PTAs are legally and ethically obligated to practice on the basis of their state practice acts, which are established by the state board of physical therapy. State practice acts are enacted primarily for the purpose of safeguarding public health, safety, and welfare by providing for state administrative control, supervision, and regulation of the practice of physical therapy. CODE OF ETHICS A code of ethics (such as the APTA Code of Ethics) is a set of standards and principles of professional, behavioral, and ethical conduct set by professional groups with the following purposes: • Provide guidance regarding expected behaviors in the workplace • State the rights of persons with whom members interact • Address ethical dilemmas particular to the profession • Include provisions for enforcing the code There are three types of codes of ethics: Aspirational, educational, and regulatory . • Aspirational codes encourage moral behavior but do not provide guidelines for conduct or sanctions for failure to follow the intent of the code (e.g., Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapist) • Educational codes state what constitutes ethical behavior and may provide case examples but do not provide sanctions for failure to follow the code • Regulatory codes spell out the expected conduct and give specific descriptions of sanctions for failure to follow the code Core ethics documents can be found at http://www.apta.org/Ethics/Core/
INTRODUCTION Ethics involves making decisions about what is right or wrong and providing a justification for solutions in ethical problems. The application of evidence to practice entails a clinician’s best judgment about what to do and when to do it, based on the needs and values of each client. To navigate effectively and safely through ethical issues, physical therapists should be well versed in the understanding of their ethical and legal responsibilities under the APTA Code of Ethics for Physical Therapists, APTA Guide for Professional Conduct, APTA Standards of Ethical Conduct for the Physical Therapist Assistant, APTA Guide for Conduct of the Physical Therapist Assistant, and individual states’ practice acts. MORALITY, VALUES, ETHICS, AND THE LAW Morality: A relational concept concerned with how people choose to live together to protect a high quality of life. This includes the values, beliefs, and customs of a person or group that influences behavior and judgments regarding right and wrong. Values: Beliefs that a person or group cherish ○ Moral values: Compassion, courage, altruism, honesty, fairness, integrity
LEARNING TIP! Ethics provides the tools, language, and methods needed to make decisions when faced with moral dilemmas and moral issues.
The basic principles of ethics remain stable, whereas the understanding of morality can change as events and innovations create new situations that may alter behavior or thoughts to address new issue.
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