Ethical Decision-Making in Occupational Therapy: A Detailed Analysis

This assignment examines the ethical decision-making process of an occupational therapist assistant, focusing on a case involving a child with an embolic CVA. The student details the ethical dilemma of observing a mother feeding a child a cookie before medical clearance for oral intake, and the subsequent application of the AOTA Code of Ethics, particularly the principles of beneficence, autonomy, and confidentiality. The student describes the decision-making process, including consultation with the family and interprofessional team, and the importance of clinical reasoning, considering socio-cultural factors. The assignment highlights the core values influencing the therapist's beliefs, personal and professional learning from the situation, and the responsibilities of an occupational therapist assistant under service provision. References to relevant literature, including the AOTA website and research on ethical decision-making, are included to support the analysis.

Running head: ETHICAL DECISION MAKING OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
Ethical Decision Making of Occupational Therapists
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1ETHICAL DECISION MAKING OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
According to this, nurse
leaders at all levels must
Answer 1:
Gabriella Suarez, a two and a half-year-old girl after spending three months in acute
rehabilitation for embolic CVA was waiting for medical clearance for intaking food by
mouth; I work as an early intervention occupational therapist assistant for the Suarez family.
One afternoon I, observed that Gabrielle's mother was feeding her a cookie which is an
ethical problem so I must follow "The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)
Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Ethics Standards (2010)". The principles that I
chose were -Beneficence, autonomy and confidentiality to perform according to the interest
of the family for the best outcome. I spoke to Gabriele's mother to show my concern about
the child's safety and involve her in shared decision making. While taking such a decision I
followed the ethical decision-making process considering the fundamental checklist
according to which a therapist should respect the patient and family's decision to ensure
autonomy (VanderKaay et al.,2018). Decision-making process is also dependent on clinical
reasoning where a therapist must consider factors like socio-cultural situations including the
client and family's beliefs to provide knowledge on circumstances that may arise at the time
of moral distress (Shafaroodi et al., 2014).
Answer 2
To justify the course of the action to the supervisor, I must relate the decision-making
process to the code of ethics (Coto.org., 2020). The framework that is made consciously by
me include –stating the situation that made me think about the practical alternatives to ensure
caring reaction towards Gabriele while maintaining the fidelity of my profession, then

2ETHICAL DECISION MAKING OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
identifying the principles for AOTA code of ethics including beneficence and autonomy,
following which I asked for clarification of further information and guidance for analysing
the ethics from my mentors and stakeholders including my interprofessional team and this
helped me to educate Gabriel's family of the situation.
After receiving guidance, I thought of several alternatives before choosing the best
course of action, out of which I decided to talk to Gabriel's family and collaborate with them
in decision making for Gabriel's safety. Finally, I acted on my decision with moral courage
(Rivard & Brown, 2019).
Answer 3
The core values and behaviours that influenced my beliefs as an occupational
therapist in practising occupational therapy in rehab and with geriatrics include selfless
concern for the safety of others, being impartial towards every individual, allowing
expression of individual choices, abiding laws for professional practice, respecting others and
being faithful about my profession (Taylor, 2020). My learning from different situations and
my closeness towards Gabriel and her family influenced my personal and professional
experience as I was in charge of occupational therapist assistant of the Suarez family. I
evaluated my previous actions on the same situations which have changed my perspective
and will allow me to take a practical decision for the same incident in future.
Answer 4
As an occupational therapist assistant, I should take responsibilities following
government regulations and code of ethics (AOTA) under service provision that include
evaluating the individual where the individual, family along with an occupational therapist
for the family will determine the goal settings for the individual, intervention to be

3ETHICAL DECISION MAKING OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST
customized for improving the individual's performance of daily activities and evaluation of
the outcomes to confirm that the goals were met or interventions modified based on the
individual's needs (Aota.org., 2020).
References:
Aota.org. (2020). Retrieved 25 February 2020, from https://www.aota.org/About-
Occupational-Therapy/Professionals.aspx.
Coto.org. (2020). Retrieved 25 February 2020, from https://www.coto.org/docs/default-
source/default-document-library/conscious_decision_making.pdf.
Rivard, A. M., & Brown, C. A. (2019). Moral distress and resilience in the occupational
therapy workplace. Safety, 5(1), 10.
Shafaroodi, N., Kamali, M., Parvizy, S., Mehraban, A. H., & O'Toole, G. (2014). Factors
affecting clinical reasoning of occupational therapists: a qualitative study. Medical
journal of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 28, 8.
Taylor, R. R. (2020). The intentional relationship: Occupational therapy and use of self. FA
Davis.
VanderKaay, S., Letts, L., Jung, B., & Moll, S. E. (2018). Doing what's right: A grounded
theory of ethical decision-making in occupational therapy. Scandinavian Journal of
Occupational Therapy, 1-14.