Speak Out June 2020

Ethics

ETHICS AMID COVID-19

Speech pathologists, like everyone else in Australia at present, are managing significant changes to many aspects of life as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic: changes to personal life, family life, professional practice. How does professional ethics fit in among all of that? The majority of queries to National Office over the last eight weeks have been to discuss decisions that members are making about changes in their practice in the wake of COVID-19. These queries relate to many topics including: changes in the mode of service delivery, such as from face-to-face to telepractice; modifications to procedures or interventions undertaken in order to comply with infection control and social distancing requirements; how to respond to a directive from an employer to change practice; how to consider personal factors that are relevant to all of the above. The decisions speech pathologists are making, to achieve these and other changes, all involve ethical values (which guide how we act) and principles (which identify best options for a situation). There are many more decisions to be made during the pandemic than at other, more usual, times, and the timeframes may be shorter than usual too. This can place stress on a speech pathologist to know how to make the "right" decision. How a speech pathologist makes a decision can be just as important as what the final outcome of the decision is. Reflection and awareness of how a decision is made is a way to demonstrate integrity and professionalism. It is worth taking some time to reflect on the ethical issues at stake in a situation where change is needed, to establish what is the appropriate path to take. By taking the time to reflect and consider then document the decision and the decision making process, confidence can

be gained that decisions were made with consideration of the key issues, not made "on the run" or as a result of an emotional response. SPA members have access to resources to support ethical decision making. Given the current context, this is a good time to review key ethical decision-making models described in resources available on the SPA website: SPA Ethics Education online modules and hard copy package presents four different ethical decision-making frameworks with examples and case studies. Approaches to ethical reasoning worksheets provide worksheets to use a particular ethical decision-making framework to work through an issue. Remember to log in to the website to view these resources. Recording how a decision was made and what ethical issues were considered in the decision-making process is particularly valuable at this time. A written record can provide objective information to address any concerns that clients or others may have regarding how a specific decision or change was identified. Ultimately, this is a time our profession can do what it does best–we can reach out and offer support to each other. By having conversations about decision making and the changes that are needed to respond to the pandemic we demonstrate our commitment to ethical decision making and providing benefit to our clients.

Trish Johnson Professional Support Advisor

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June 2020 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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