Strategies for Ethics Education with Health Profession Students Before, During, and After Placements

Authors

  • Natalie Pollard Queensland University of Technology
  • Gillian Nisbet The University of Sydney
  • Belinda Kenny The University of Sydney
  • Lyndal Sheepway Charles Sturt University
  • Jodie Jacobson Formerly of the University of Sydney
  • Emily Tartakover Formerly of the University of Sydney, Australia
  • Andrew Kilgour Charles Sturt University
  • Lindy McAllister The University of Sydney

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18552/ijpblhsc.v6i2.405

Keywords:

allied health, ethics, ethics education, health professions students, placements

Abstract

Health professionals must practice ethically in order to ensure compassionate and effective client care; function as good interdisciplinary team members; and protect themselves from litigation, and conduct and ethics complaints. Ethics education is a routine inclusion in health profession degrees, but may only be taught in the classroom, divorced from practice. This article argues that students need ethics education before, during, and after practice placements. We suggest that many powerful opportunities for teaching ethics on and after placements are missed or under-utilised. We have reviewed the scant evidence, and the literature more broadly, to identify strategies for teaching ethics before, during, and after placements; and have added strategies drawn from our own experiences as clinical educators. We highlight where interdisciplinary perspectives can be added to ethics education. We conclude that more research is needed into approaches and strategies for teaching ethics in different contexts.

Author Biography

Natalie Pollard, Queensland University of Technology

Work Integrated Learning, Faculty of Health Sciences

Associate Lecturer and Lead Medical Radiation Science Work Integrated Learning Academic

References

Atwal, A. and Caldwell, K. (2003) ‘Ethics, occupational therapy and discharge planning: Four broken principles’. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 50, 244–251 https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1440-1630.2003.00374.x

Banks, S. (2010) ‘Interprofessional ethics: A developing field? Notes from the Ethics & Social Welfare Conference’. Ethics and Social Welfare, 4 (3), 280–294 https://doi.org/10.1080/17496535.2010.516116

Beauchamp, T.L. and Childress, J.F. (2013) Principles of Biomedical Ethics. 7th edn. New York: Oxford University Press

Bourne, E., Sheepway, L., Charlton, N., Kilgour, A., Blackford, J., Alam, M., and McAllister, L. (2013) ‘Ethical awareness in allied health students on clinical placements: Case examples and strategies for student support’. Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology, 15 (2), 94–98

Braunack-Mayer, A. (2001) ‘Casuistry as bioethical method: An empirical perspective’. Social Science & Medicine, 53 (1), 71–81 https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(00)00314-2

Brondani, M.A. and Rossoff, L.P. (2010) ‘The “hot seat” experience: A multifaceted approach to the teaching of ethics in a dental curriculum’. Journal of Dental Education, 74 (11), 1220–1229

Bushby, K., Chan, J., Druif, S., Ho, K., and Kinsella, E.A. (2015) ‘Ethical tensions in occupational therapy practice: A scoping review’. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78 (4), 212–221 https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022614564770

Cameron, M.E., Schaffer, M., and Park, H.-A. (2001) ‘Nursing students' experience of ethical problems and use of ethical decision-making models’. Nursing Ethics, 8 (5), 432–447

Charon, R. and Montello, M. (eds.) (2002) Stories Matter: The Role of Narrative in Medical Ethics. London: Routledge

Donaldson, T.M., Fistein, E., and Dunn, M. (2010) ‘Case-based seminars in medical ethics education: How medical students define and discuss moral problems’. Journal of Medical Ethics, 36 (12), 816–820 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2010.036574

Dunn, L. and Musolino, G.M. (2011) ‘Assessing reflective thinking and approaches to learning’. Journal of Allied Health, 40 (3), 128–136

Elkin S.A. (2004) ‘The integration of ethics teaching in the therapy professions’. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Journal, 5 (3), 1–6

Flatley, D.R., Kenny, B.J., and Lincoln, M.A. (2014) ‘Ethical dilemmas experienced by speech-language pathologists working in private practice’. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 16 (3), 290–303 https://doi.org/10.3109/17549507.2014.898094

Garrity, M.K. (2013) ‘Developing nursing leadership skills through reflective journaling: A nursing professor’s personal reflection’. Reflective Practice: International and Multidisciplinary Perspectives, 14 (1), 118–130 https://doi.org/10.1080/14623943.2012.732940

Geddes, E.L., Wessel, J., and Williams, R.M. (2004) ‘Ethical Issues identified by physical therapy students during clinical placements’. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 20, 17–29 https://doi.org/10.1080/09593980490425076

Glen, S. (1999) ‘Educating for interprofessional collaboration: Teaching about values’. Nursing Ethics, 6 (3), 202–213 https://doi.org/10.1177/096973309900600303

Godbold, R. and Lees, A. (2013) ‘Ethics education for health professionals: A values based approach’. Nurse Education in Practice, 13 (6), 553–560 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2013.02.012

Handelsman, M.M., Gottlieb, M.C., and Knapp, S. (2005) ‘Training ethical psychologists: An acculturation model’. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 36 (1), 59–65 https://doi.org/10.1037/0735-7028.36.1.59

Hanson, S. (2005) ‘Teaching health care ethics: Why we should teach nursing and medical students together’. Nursing Ethics, 12 (2), 167–176 https://doi.org/10.1191/0969733005ne773oa

Hill, A.E., Davidson, B.J., and Theodoros, D.G. (2010) ‘A review of standardized patients in clinical education: Implications for speech-language pathology programs’. International Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 12 (3), 259–270 https://doi.org/10.3109/17549500903082445

Irvine, R., Kerridge, I., McPhee, J., and Freeman, S. (2002) ‘Interprofessionalism and ethics: Consensus or clash of cultures’? Journal of Interprofessional Care, 16 (3), 199–210 https://doi.org/10.1080/13561820220146649

Johnston, C. and Haughton, P. (2007) ‘Teaching and learning ethics: Medical students’ perceptions of their ethics teaching’. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33, 418–422 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2006.018010

Kenny, B. (2015) ‘Food culture, preferences and ethics in dysphagia management’. Bioethics. Special Issue: International Association of Bioethics 12th World Congress 29, 9, 646–652 https://doi.org/10.1111/bioe.12189

Kenny, B., Lincoln, M., and Balandin, S. (2010) ‘Experienced speech-language pathologists’ responses to ethical dilemmas: An integrated approach to ethical reasoning’. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 19, 121–134 https://doi.org/10.1044/1058-0360(2009/08-0007)

Kenny, B., Lincoln, M., and Killian, F. (2015) ‘Ethics cases: Do they elicit different levels of ethical reasoning’? Journal of Academic Ethics, 13 (3), 259-275 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10805-015-9234-6

Kinsella, E.A., Park, A.J.-S., Appiagyei J., Chang, E., and Chow, D. (2008) ‘Through the eyes of students: Ethical tensions in occupational therapy practice’. Canadian Journal of Occupational Therapy, 75 (3), 176–183 https://doi.org/10.1177/000841740807500309

Kirklin, D. (2007) ‘Minding the gap between logic and intuition: An interpretative approach to ethical analysis’. Journal of Medical Ethics, 33, 386–389 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2005.015156

Kulju, K., Suhonen, R., and Leino-Kilpi, H. (2013) 'Ethical problems and moral sensitivity in physiotherapy: A descriptive study'. Nursing Ethics, 20 (5), 568–577 https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733012468462

Liaschenko, J., Oguz, N.Y., and Brunnquell, D. (2006) ‘Critique of the “tragic case” method in ethics education’. Journal of Medical Ethics, 32, 672–677 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.2005.013060

Maidment, J. (2006) ‘Using on-line delivery to support students during practicum placements’. Australian Social Work, 59 (1), 47–55 https://doi.org/10.1080/03124070500449770

Mann, K., Gordon, J., and MacLeod, A. (2009) ‘Reflection and reflective practice in health professions education: A systematic review’. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 14 (4), 595–621 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-007-9090-2

Numminen, O., van der Arend, A., and Leino-Kilpi, H. (2009) ‘Nurses educators’ and nursing students’ perspectives on teaching codes of ethics’. Nursing Ethics, 16 (1), 69–82 https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733008097991

Pasco, J., Bay, U., and Courtney, M. (2010) ‘You become the supervisor’. in Clinical and Fieldwork Placement in the Health Professions. ed. by Stagnitti, K., Schoo, A., and Welch, D. South Melbourne, Australia: Oxford University Press, 315–328

Pettifor, J.L., Estay, I., and Paquet, S. (2002) ‘Preferred strategies for learning ethics in the practice of a discipline’. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 43 (4), 260–269 https://doi.org/10.1037/h0086922

Praestegaard, J. and Gard, G. (2013) ‘Ethical issues in physiotherapy – Reflected from the perspective of physiotherapists in private practice’. Physiotherapy Theory and Practice, 29 (2), 96–112. https://doi.org/10.3109/09593985.2012.700388

Rowell, M. (1998) ‘Feminist approaches to bioethics: Theoretical reflections and practical applications’. Journal of Medical Ethics, 24, 213–213 https://doi.org/10.1136/jme.24.3.213

Seedhouse, D. (2009) 'The background to the ethical grid'. in The Heart of Health Care. ed. by Seedhouse, D. Chichester, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 142–174.

Self, D.J., Wolinsky, F.D., and Baldwin Jr., D.C. (1989) ‘The effect of teaching medical ethics on medical students’ moral reasoning’. Academic Medicine, 64, 755–759 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-198912000-00014

Sharp, H.M. and Kuthy, R.A. (2008) ‘What do dental students learn in an ethics course? An analysis of student-reported learning outcomes’. Journal of Dental Education, 72 (12), 1450–1457

Smith, T., Williams, L., Lyons, M., and Lewis, S. (2005) ‘Pilot testing a multiprofessional learning module: Lessons learned’. Focus on Health Professional Education: A Multi-Disciplinary Journal, 6 (3), 21–23

Spike, J.P. and Lundstroth, R. (2016) ‘Framing interprofessional ethics cases’. in A Casebook in Interprofessional Ethics: A Succinct Introduction to Ethics for the Health Professions [online]. ed. by Spike, J.P. and Lundstroth, R. Switzerland: Springer International Publishing, 11–17 https://doi.org/10.1097/00001888-198912000-00014

Vergés, A. (2010) ‘Integrating contextual issues in ethical decision making’. Ethics & Behavior, 20 (6), 497–507 https://doi.org/10.1080/10508422.2010.521451

Downloads

Published

2018-11-28

How to Cite

Pollard, N., Nisbet, G., Kenny, B., Sheepway, L., Jacobson, J., Tartakover, E., Kilgour, A., & McAllister, L. (2018). Strategies for Ethics Education with Health Profession Students Before, During, and After Placements. International Journal of Practice-Based Learning in Health and Social Care, 6(2), 95–110. https://doi.org/10.18552/ijpblhsc.v6i2.405

Most read articles by the same author(s)

1 2 > >>