A recent ethical dilemma that I faced was regarding a physical therapist assistant (PTA) I was working with at the outpatient rehab clinic that I am working as a rehab aide. The PTA was treating different patients differently and unfairly base on the diagnosis that was being treated for therapy. The PTA would often refuse treatment, or shorten the regular treatment time from 45 minutes per session to 30 minutes or less.
The process that I went through to resolve this dilemma was first, I gather up all the facts regarding the situation. This PTA has more than ten years of experience working as a physical therapist assistant at outpatient rehab clinics. The PTA has previous treated numerous patient with those specific diagnoses that she is now
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The ethical principles involved in this dilemma are beneficence, social justice, veracity and fidelity.
The duties of the physical therapist assistant is to carry out the plan of care that is established by the physical therapist, and follow the physical therapist’s plan of care. Furthermore, as a therapist, it is the PTA’s ethical duty to treat each patient equally, be truthful with each patient and allow all patients to participate equally in their treatment. My responsibility as a rehab aide and her colleagues is to report this misconduct to the physical therapist that I am working under and to my direct manager, the outpatient rehabilitation coordinator while keeping the confidentiality of the situation.
The desire outcome of this situation is after discussing the situation with the two PTs working at the clinic, and after the PT confirming that the action by the PTA is misconduct. Then, report this situation to the outpatient coordinator and let the coordinator handle the situation with the appropriate consequence deemed appropriate by the