Professionalism, Ethics, and Patient/Client Management
What the candidate must know
Understand the APTA Code of Ethics, core values, informed consent, confidentiality, and scope of practice. Know how to manage conflicts of interest, boundary issues, and patient autonomy. Understand patient/client management: examination, evaluation, diagnosis, prognosis, intervention, and outcomes. Know documentation and reimbursement basics. Recognize ethical dilemmas and the appropriate decision-making process.
Traps
- Proceeding without informed consent or adequate patient education.
- Practicing outside scope or delegating inappropriately.
- Breaching confidentiality in casual or digital communication.
- Confusing patient autonomy with clinician-directed decisions.
Rule of thumb
When facing an ethical dilemma, apply the core principles-autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, justice-and document your reasoning.
Worked example
A patient requests a treatment with weak evidence. Respect autonomy, discuss risks and benefits transparently, offer alternatives, and document the shared decision-making process.