The APTA Code Of Ethics In Health Care

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Ethical practice is the act of doing the right from a societal or organization’s viewpoint, which most often encompasses a legal viewpoint of morality. Healthcare professionals are constantly faced with ethical issues. These situations often stem from evaluating the intangibles and it is the role of the every healthcare provider to be able to discern the right from wrong. Healthcare professionals tend to face ethical issues whenever the individual moral compass is in conflict with what society believes is acceptable. The variables in the individual moral compass are dependent on the individual’s environment and religious beliefs. The yardsticks to determine whether or not a decision is ethical should be based on the magnitude of the consequences …show more content…

For example, a conservative Muslim or Christian Physical Therapist (PT) in America may have the religious beliefs that homosexuality should be strongly opposed. He or she might be prejudice against gays and would be more inclined to deny them from having an equal healthcare treatment. However, the Physical Therapist is also bounded by the code of ethics that is required by the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) and its licensure. In the APTA code of ethics, the conservative religious PT is subjected to Principle #1 which is “Physical Therapists shall respect the inherent dignity and rights of all individuals” (Primary). In this scenario, the PT has to give precedence to society’s interpretation of ethics above his/her own. If the opposite of true, this would have an adverse effect on the society’s ability to provide healthcare, especially in today’s increasing diversity in the American society. Hence, as an aspiring Physical Therapist, I recognize the magnitude of consequences, and the sake of functionality of a society. This simply shows that it is even more ethical to abide to the rules set by society than the individual’s religious …show more content…

At a children’s hospital, it is likely that the young patients are not aware of their maximum potential of recovery. This is evident when they are reluctant to do rehabilitative exercises that are deemed safe by Physical Therapy. Physical Therapists are then required to confront the dilemma of giving what the patient wants, or making them do what is best for them. In that episode, a decision of pushing the young patient to an acceptable limit was made. However, the young patient was emotionally distressed even though there was physical evidence that he could easily perform the exercises. Ethically, the Physical Therapist was doing his/her job in providing optimal physical treatment. Yet, there are consequences that may be amplified especially when it comes to young patients. Because Physical Therapy requires multiple sessions, it is important to want to give an impression that the clinic is a safe and rehabilitative environment. Personally, I would act according to my discernment of the individual cases bearing in mind that there is an opportunity cost of other patients that are denied an appointment. That puts more emphasis on being productive during treatments. My approach to this would be to be adept in motivating patients to strive for functionality outside the clinic and this would require experience. Referring back to

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