According to American Occupation Therapy Association, ethics is the manifestation of careful reflection and moral character. It is s a commitment to grace for other people's sake, to honorable practice of science and artistry, to practice good behaviors and noble acts of courage. The code of ethics for the AOTA is a guide to the professional conduct which is necessary when they face ethical issues. The purpose of the code of ethics is to define and to describe principles which are supported by Occupational Therapy, to educate its members and the public of the principles of Occupation Therapy and to inform new members of the standards of conduct, assisting them in recognition as well as the resolution of the ethical dilemma.
Organizational ethics involves commitment which goes beyond service recipients and extends to the colleagues, educators, students, business and the general community. Clinical ethics, on the other hand, involves a patient's diagnosis or prognosis and inspires a practitioner’s moral cognition in performing professional duties. Ethics plays a major role in guiding professionalism in occupational therapy as it steers the practitioners to be accountable for their competence, actions, and behaviors both inside and outside the workplace. Ethics enables the practitioners to take responsibility for the impact and impression they show on others, presenting and professionally conducting themselves. Ethics is derived from Greek words ethos which means character or custom. In modern interpretation, ethics is defined as the standards and principles of human conduct or the study of morals.
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An ethical dilemma is choosing between two or more options. Sometimes, both the options may be good, but sometimes they may be bad options. Sometimes it involves a dilemma about the right approach for a patient. Ethical distress, on the other hand, refers to the concern or feeling that one has for a particular situation. Most often, ethical distress occurs when people have a team-based approach, and every member has different opinion or understanding of an issue. For example, a decision made for a patient and which a practitioner thinks is not right but does not have the locus of authority to decide in that particular situation. Most often, practitioners face moral distress when they are in a position where they feel they know the right action is not happening. Decision-making process for an occupational therapy involves steps which include identifying ethical issues, gathering facts and relevant information identify resources, evaluating options, choosing the best option and act and finally reflecting on the process and outcomes.
The use of ethical decision-making framework in occupational therapy is important because it promotes values, respect, and trust through the principles of practice relating to the situation. The knowledge of how to identify and apply the principles is critical in achieving accuracy in the practice. There are many factors which impact the final decisions. They include the patients' needs, the professional standards, and ethics, policies, legislation, guidelines, and competence. The occupational therapy practitioners apply the ethical concept to everyday situations by making a proper treatment to patients, doing recommendations, intervention and applying principles that help them achieve excellence in the practice.
The primary role of American Occupational Therapy Association EC is to develop and revise the code of ethics of the Occupational Therapy and submit the revisions for approvals to the Assembly. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc (NBCOT) is a credentialing agency which gives certification for the occupational therapy profession. The agency develops, administers and reviews certification process which reflects the standard of competence in the profession. The agency also works with regulatory authorities to provide information on the professional conduct, credential, and certification renewal issues. The State Regulation Board describes how the intent law would be carried out. The regulations are created by the regulators who hold public offices in various departments in state government. When the practitioners fail to adhere to the ethical conduct, AOTA EC may take disciplinary action depending on the rule broken. This may range from revoking the membership or even censuring. The National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc (NBCOT) have several ways of administering disciplinary action. This may include censuring, probation, suspension, revocation and voluntary forfeiture.
Self-reflection is an important way of handling the experiences and mistakes that people encounter in their profession since it moves one from experiencing to understanding the whole situation. The essential tool of boosting an individual's motivation is through doing meaningful work, and this can only be achieved by complying with the ethical code of conduct.
