This course outlines the foundations of healthcare ethics, beginning with ethical theory, and concludes by elucidating ethical concepts and issues in healthcare. At issues of decision-making capacity, surrogate decision-making will be addressed as well as questions spanning from "do physicians cause the death of their patients," "Can you take love-drugs if you hate your spouse but don't want a divorce," and the (in)famous trolley experiment. Addressing these wide-ranging issues and questions helps the audience understand that healthcare ethics is dynamic and providers are confronted with ethics issues everyday.
At the conclusion of this course, participants will be able to:
1. Participants will learn the role of ethical theory, healthcare ethics, and ethics issues in their domains.
2. Participants will be able to explain the fundamentals of decision-making capacity and informed consent
3. Participants will be able to articulate the professional ethical standards of conduct physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
4. Participants will recognize the role of ethics in physical, occupational, and speech therapy.
Gavin Enck, PhD, is the System Director of Clinical Ethics. He received his MA from Ohio University and PhD in Philosophy (specializing in bioethics and neuroethics) from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Enck completed a post-doctoral Clinical Ethics fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, working with the Supportive and Palliative Care department and Critical Care department. In 2018, he passed the inaugural exam to be Healthcare Ethicist Certified.
