Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals

H&W is proud to be able to present a new remote course on ethics from new faculty member, and Sr. TA, Mora Pluchino, PT, DPT, PRPC. Mora is a graduate of Stockton University with a BS in Biology (2007) and Doctorate of Physical Therapy (2009). She has been working at Bacharach Institute for Rehabilitation ever since graduation and has experience in a variety of areas and settings, working with children and adults, including orthopedics, bracing, neuromuscular issues, vestibular issues, and robotics training.

Mora began treating Pelvic Health patients in 2016 and has experience treating women, men, and children with a variety of Pelvic Health dysfunction. In 2020, she opened her own "after hours" virtual practice called Practically Perfect Physical Therapy Consulting to help meet the needs of more clients and has been a guest lecturer for Rutgers University Blackwood Campus and Stockton University for their Pediatric and Pelvic Floor modules and has been a TA with Herman & Wallace since 2020 with over 150 hours of lab instruction experience. Mora authored and instructs Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals. 

Put yourself in these situations and reflect. How would you feel? What would you do? All of the situations above have a common theme. They present Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals. Ethical situations are very common in day-to-day practice for any health care professional. Treating in the pelvic region can add additional complications due to the level of intimacy and vulnerability in this care.

Ethics by definition is “the division of philosophy concerned with how a person should behave in a matter that is considered morally correct or good” that gives us standards, virtues, and rules (Boone, 2017). The professional code of ethics for each professional category and is grounded in virtue ethics. Virtue ethics includes four main concepts including balance of harms and benefits, doing no harm, justice, and autonomy (Kirsch, 2005)

Whether a practitioner is a physical therapist/ physical therapist assistant, occupational therapist, psychologist, social worker, nurse, doctor, or physician’s assistant, their governing professional organization will have a code of ethics and conduct to help guide these practitioners in good decision making. There are many ethical decision-making models to help guide an individual through the process of identifying, defining, examining, and then problem solving any ethical occurrence.

The RIPS Model, originally presented by Arlanian, Swisher & Davis in 2005, presents an ethical framework to help guide practitioners through the steps needed to address ethical concerns. The world of ethical decision-making is typically one of many options, typically being more “gray area” than simply “black” and “white.” Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals is designed to help make these decisions easier to define, examine, discuss, and address so we can have these tough conversations!

Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals is a one-day remote course that covers ethical considerations for professionals working in the area of Pelvic Health. In general, Health Care Professionals have many day-to-day ethical considerations to “do no harm.” This includes basic decisions for billing, patient care, safety, and compliance. The purpose of this class is to explore the ethical challenges Pelvic Health practitioners may experience including consent, managing trauma and abuse, and preventing misconduct. To learn more join us in Ethical Concerns for Pelvic Health Professionals on June 18, 2022!

Research:

Boone, B. (2017). Ethics 101: From altruism and utilitarianism to bioethics and political ethics, an exploration of the concepts of right and wrong. Adams Media.

Kirsch, N. (2005). Ethics in Physical Therapy: A Case-Based Approach. McGraw Hill Publications. American Physical Therapy Association.