Ethical Decision-Making in Physical Therapy |
CASE 8You are the manager of a home health agency who was just informed by one of the most experienced nurses on staff, that your new physical therapist assistant is falsifying notes on a stroke patient. The nurse says that the patient has been at a plateau for at least ten days, but that the PTA has been documenting that the patient is making progress. The nurse is very upset and wants this PTA fired and reported to the state board. You talk to the PTA who says that the patient was making slight progress in the ability to ambulate. The PTA tells you that the patient's wife has lung cancer and that the patient needs to be as independent as possible to be able to care for his wife and he has begged the PTA to continue providing physical therapy. The PTA tells you that he honestly thought that he was documenting appropriately but he admits that he might have been a little optimistic when reporting the progress. As illustrated in this case, an ethic of care does not always lead to an acceptable outcome. It must be used in conjunction with the other theories of consequences or duties. This PTA was apparently motivated from a virtue of compassion, but he also must function within the boundaries of the law. What should you do?How could the PTA have helped this family without breaking the law?
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