Learner Objectives
After this course, readers will be able to:
- Define ethics and terminology associated with ethics.
- Identify the revisions to the 2016 ASHA Code of Ethics.
- Describe components of the Code for licensure and ASHA.
Introduction and Overview
Today we get to talk about ethics, which is a topic that I enjoy, although many people may find it “boring.” We will not only cover ASHA’s code of ethics, but we will also think along the lines of how to make better decisions. Ethics is an area that sometimes we think is very simplistic – that there is a right and a wrong answer. However, the more that I've dealt with ethical issues at the state level on the licensure board, I have found that there are a lot of cases where the answer is, "it depends." We need to think about the terms that we use to create a better understanding, so that when we're reading or talking about ethics and codes of ethics, we comprehend why certain things are the way they are. Nothing is simplistic about making good, ethical decisions, including the decision-making process. We are faced with situations daily that may appear black and white, but there may be shades of gray.
The Importance of Ethics in Today’s Society
If you're like me and a little bit older, we like to be nostalgic about the “good old days” when we didn't even have to talk about ethics because we just assumed that people would do the right thing. Society has changed greatly and continues to evolve. For example, our grandparents reminisce about what they remember as the good old days when they were children, and they perceive today’s youth as crazy and wild. We have to think about it in the context in which we currently find ourselves.
Ethics have been brought to the forefront as a result of scandals that occurred in the business world, and the changes that continue to happen in healthcare and education. When we think about society in terms of professionals and speech language pathology and audiology, we need to recognize that this discussion started back in the 1980s, when a lot more literature and books were being published in our fields on the topic of ethics and ethical decision making. Some people consider the area of supervision as being one of those “soft sciences;” but at the same time, if we are going to have and develop codes of ethics, then we all need to be on the same page.
