Professional Ethics, Practice Standards, and Philippine Regulations
Domain 7 tests ethical conduct, scope of practice, supervision, records, consent, confidentiality, and Philippine professional regulation. In the Philippines, Republic Act No. 11249 regulates speech-language pathology practice and establishes the Professional Regulatory Board of Speech-Language Pathology under the Professional Regulation Commission. Expect questions on licensure, competence, referral, and professional boundaries.
Core rules
- Practice within your education, training, and supervised experience. Refer when a condition is outside scope or requires medical, psychological, educational, or audiological input.
- Obtain informed consent before assessment or intervention, explain limits of confidentiality, and release records only with valid authorization or a legal/ethical exception.
- Maintain accurate records, protect privacy, avoid dual relationships that impair judgment, and represent credentials truthfully. Advertising and social media must not disclose identifying client information.
- Supervision of students or assistants requires appropriate oversight and accountability; the supervising professional remains responsible for services.
Worked example
A parent asks you to send a client’s full therapy file to a school “for planning.” You should confirm the client/guardian’s written authorization, clarify what information is needed, and release only the relevant records. If the child is a minor, the guardian generally consents, but the child’s assent and privacy preferences should be respected. Sending the entire file without authorization would breach confidentiality.
Traps
Do not treat school requests as automatic consent. Do not discuss clients in public or on social media. Do not practice outside scope while waiting for referral. Do not confuse licensure with continuing competence. Do not accept gifts or relationships that exploit power differences.