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Speak Out
October 2015
Speech Pathology Australia
ethics news
Speech pathologists
make
countless decisions every day, in both
our personal and professional lives. We
belong to a professional community with
a common set of values, principles and
standards which guide us in making
appropriate and ethical decisions. So
how can we find support, and support
each other, to apply the Code of Ethics
(2010) in a relevant, proactive way?
Members of SPA have access to
many types of support for ethical
decision making within professional
practice. A key responsibility of my
role as the Senior Advisor for Ethics
and Professional Issues is to provide
impartial advice and support for
members regarding the application
of the Code of Ethics to professional
practice. I am available during office
hours Monday to Thursday to discuss
any aspect of ethical decision making or
concerns you may have regarding the
ethical issues inherent in our work. All
communication with me (phone or email)
is confidential.
It is a reflection on our profession’s
commitment to making proactive and
appropriate decisions that roughly
90% of all the phone calls I receive are
from speech pathologists wishing to
discuss the ethics involved in an aspect
of professional practice (the remaining
10% of calls are from members of the
public). Frequently this results in the two
of us consulting the code (kept handily
beside my phone!) and discussing which
principles or standards are inherent in
the situation.
The code applies to all activities
across the scope of speech pathology
practice, reflecting the value base of
our profession and the principles that
guide our decisions. By practising the
application of the ethical principles within
the code and reflecting on our actions
with regard to standards of practice,
we can increase the consistency of our
ethical decision making. The code is a
useful guide for our everyday practice
and regularly assists in finding clarity
within a complex situation. It is not
surprising that during the phone calls
I receive, once the relevant section/s
of the code have been identified,
appropriate actions or decisions are
more easily identified.
By undertaking reflective practice we
can consciously interpret and apply the
code to our individual work settings.
Discussions between colleagues,
individually or in teams, can help us to
reflect on what demonstrates ethical
practice in speech pathology, so that
we can apply the agreed principles
and standards in a proactive way,
not just as a reaction to a specific
dilemma. Reference materials such as
the
SPA Clinical Guidelines
,
Position
Statements
and databases such as
speechBITE
can be used to support
those discussions. The Ethics Education
Package is also available to all members
(
free to download
), which
can be used to explore and apply
different theoretical ethical decision
making frameworks to our own work
setting. Another benefit is that working
through the package can count as a
professional development activity for
CPD points.
So if you find yourself contemplating
a situation where the path forward
is not clear, talk to a colleague, use
the materials available on the
SPA
website
, or give me a call – you don’t
need to feel alone in your decision
making.
trish johnson
Senior Advisor,
Ethics and Professional Issues
Support for members in ethical decision making
The
Code of Ethics Policy – Advertising
states that testimonials are not to be used in advertising for
speech pathology services. Facebook reviews of your service are considered to be testimonials, therefore
should not be displayed in any advertising you have control over.
If you have a Facebook page for your practice, you can hide reviews: go to the
Reviews
page, click on the
Manage
button, then
Hide section
.
Disclaimer: This information may not be accurate for all Facebook profiles/business accounts.
Please see Facebook help options if necessary.
How to hide reviews on your practice’s
Facebook page