Deck 14: Professional Behavior, Values, and Ethics

Question 1

You are an occupational therapy fieldwork supervisor and one of your occupational therapy students, Miss Tigerbarb, questions the utility of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Code of Ethics for practice. Which of the following would not be a typical explanation you would provide?

A) The Code of Ethics assists practitioners in recognizing and resolving ethical dilemmas.
B) The Code of Ethics can be used to help clients who tend to be anxious manage their concerns about participating in occupational therapy.
C) The Code of Ethics identifies and describes values and principles upheld by members of the profession.
D) The Code of Ethics describes the behaviors for which practitioners are held accountable.

Answer 1

The Code of Ethics can be used to help clients who tend to be anxious manage their concerns about participating in occupational therapy.

Question 2

Which one of the following is not a step in ethical decision-making?

A) Identify the problem and define the ethical issue.
B) Gather info and examine ethical principles.
C) Explore ethical options.
D) Consider not reporting because the patient is a VIP.
E) Implement decisions and evaluate actions.

Answer 2

Consider not reporting because the patient is a VIP.

Question 3

According to the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics, what is defined as beneficence?

A) Provide accurate information when representing the profession.
B) Ensure recipient's safety and do no harm.
C) Respect patient rights, including confidentiality.
D) Comply with laws.
E) Express concern for the safety and well-being of the recipients of occupational therapy services.

Answer 3

Express concern for the safety and well-being of the recipients of occupational therapy services.

Question 4

Which of the following is not the definition of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) ethics code of Principle 4: Duty?

A) Hold appropriate national, state, or other credentials for the services they provide.
B) Critically examine available evidence to perform duties on the basis of current information.
C) Record and report in a timely manner all information related to professional activities.
D) Refer to or consult with other service providers in collaboration with the recipient when it could be helpful to the recipient.

Question 5

An occupational therapy coworker and casual friend of yours, Ms. Tetra, confides in you that she has been having some severe mood swings and recently has been diagnosed with bipolar II disorder (milder severity). She is now taking a medication that stabilizes her mood. This comes as a shock to you, because you have always admired Ms. Tetra's consistency, discipline, and skill on the job and you have not noticed anything different about her lately except that she seems to have a lot of energy, as usual. Later that month at the annual holiday party, the medical director, who is an acquaintance of yours, casually mentions over drinks that he has heard a rumor that Ms. Tetra was seen engaging in licentious behavior at a popular night club in Chicago last year. He tells you he heard another rumor that she recently has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He then comments that it seems preposterous given her reputation for being a workaholic and given how professionally she acts at work. Knowing you are close to her, he asks you simply out of curiosity if these rumors are true. Given that Ms. Tetra's job performance has not been affected, what principle of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (2005) Code of Ethics would it be most important for you to uphold?

A) Nonmaleficence
B) Procedural justice
C) Fidelity
D) Autonomy and confidentiality

Question 6

You are an occupational therapist and also an administrator of an outstanding outpatient rehabilitation facility that accepts clients from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds. Recently, you have had to maintain a waiting list for occupational therapy services because all your current occupational therapists have reached their maximum caseload capacity. You receive a call from a physician-friend of yours wanting to refer a well-known political figure in need of outpatient occupational therapy treatment. You check back with your staff and realize that a patient was discharged this morning and there is now one opening on her caseload. However, you have an existing wait list of three clients from an underserved neighborhood of Chicago that have been waiting for occupational therapy services for almost 2 weeks. Which occupational therapy core value would you most need to keep in mind when deciding how to respond?

A) Beneficence
B) Nonmaleficence
C) Duty
D) Procedural justice

Question 7

Which of the following is not an example of how the empathizing mode can align with occupational therapy core values?

A) Altruism-oriented to the other rather than to the self
B) Dignity-emphasizes the uniqueness and self-worth of each client; upholds attitudes of empathy
C) Equality-ensures equal rights and opportunities for all humans
D) Truth-emphasizes an accurate and authentic orientation toward others

Question 8

Which of the following statements is wrong?

A) I can file a complaint against any occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant.
B) If I'm a fieldwork student, I'd better not report unethical behavior by university faculty or my clinical instructor because it may affect my grade.
C) Unethical conduct by an individual occupational therapist or occupational therapy assistant can be reported to the state licensure board, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA)'s Ethics Commission, and the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy (NBCOT).
D) The Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics (2005) was last updated and adopted by the American Occupational Therapy Association's (AOTA) Representative Assembly (RA) in April 2010.
E) The Code and Ethics Standards apply to all occupational therapy situations.

Question 9

Which of the following is not an example of limited behavioral self-awareness?

A) Showing fatigue or exhaustion in your facial expression
B) Discretely referencing the clock or your wristwatch
C) Making prolonged or intense eye contact
D) Using verbal prompts excessively (e.g., "uh hmm" or "that's good")

Question 10

What is not encompassed in the concept of reliability in everyday practice?

A) Being consistent and predictable with clients
B) Following through on whatever you say you will do
C) Being present for and on time to all therapy sessions
D) Following the same treatment protocol and assessment measures with clients

Question 11

Confidentiality not only requires that you hold this personal information privately in your mind, but it also requires that you limit what you put in writing to only that which is essential for the documentation requirements of the setting and the insurer.

Question 12

If a client makes a sexualized comment to an occupational therapist or otherwise behaves sexually in a way that makes the occupational therapist feel uncomfortable, the occupational therapist has several choices. If appropriate, the occupational therapist should raise and discuss the issue with the client or remind the client of the importance of professional boundaries or state that the behavior is not acceptable. The occupational therapist should document the event in the client's chart, tell a supervisor and other staff, and, if everything possible has been tried to get the client to stop this behavior, refer the client to someone else.