Professional Ethics and Regulatory Compliance
Core concepts
Ethical practice in allied health is built on four principles: autonomy (respecting patient choice), beneficence (acting for the patient's good), non-maleficence (avoiding harm), and justice (fair allocation and equitable treatment). Know how these resolve in practice - informed consent, confidentiality, truth-telling, and professional boundaries.
Informed consent requires capacity, adequate information (risks, benefits, alternatives), voluntariness, and documentation; the patient may withdraw consent at any time. Confidentiality is protected by law and professional codes, with limited exceptions (mandatory reporting of communicable disease or suspected abuse, imminent danger, court order). Understand scope of practice - working only within your competence and license, delegating appropriately, and escalating when a task exceeds your scope. Know mandatory reporting duties, documentation accuracy, conflict-of-interest rules, and the prohibition on falsifying records.
Traps in questions
- Choosing the "kindest" option over the legally and ethically correct one (e.g., sharing information with family without consent).
- Assuming a family member can consent for a competent adult.
- Ignoring scope-of-practice limits to "help out."
- Failing to recognize that a patient's refusal must be respected and documented.
Worked example / rule of thumb
A competent adult refuses a recommended procedure. The correct action is to respect the refusal, explain consequences, ensure understanding, and document - not to persuade through family or proceed anyway. Rule of thumb: when autonomy and beneficence conflict for a competent adult, autonomy wins.