Ethical Dilemmas To Practice As A Speech-Language Pathologist

1. The organizational behavior problems in this case are lack of leadership, lack of good communication and lack of resources. The hospital has poor leadership. The leaders have not put in place certain safe guards to deliver quality health care to their patients. First, patients are admitted on the spot without the consideration of other health care options. This also poses another issue of patient autonomy. Patients have the right to choose treatment options. Secondly, leadership has not ensured resources such as bilingual staff or other language interpreting services are in place for non-English speaking patients. This creates a communication barrier, which the hospital runs the risk of patients not fully understand information relayed to them. As a result, patients cannot make informed decisions. Understanding a consent form should not be the only documentation required to perform a medical procedure. The hospital leaders should use other forms such as published brochures to explain diagnosis, procedures, and patient rights and patient advocates before having patient sign consent forms.

During my interview with Speech Pathologist, Deborah Kirsch, I learned countless details about the Speech Pathology career field. When we first began talking, I learned that Mrs. Kirsch works out of a company called “Professional Therapy Services”, where she is contracted out to work for “Eunice Smith Nursing Home” which is located in Alton, Illinois. She has been working at this facility for about a year. She is a newly found graduate from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and she graduated in May 2011. Another thing that I learned about Mrs. Kirsch is that she originally did not go to school to become a speech pathologist, this was a career that she found later in life. After she had graduated from SIUE, the first time with a bachelors in Psychiatry, she started working at a nursing home around this area. She came to know a Speech Pathologist that worked there and she quickly found the field very fascinating. She had always been driven to help others, and she witnessed some of the exercises being done with individuals at the nursing home and decided to go back to school to get her masters in Speech Pathology.

The opportunity to observe the work overview of a Speech Pathologist, has tremendously solidified my interest in this field. At the Diana Rogovin Speech Center at Brooklyn College, I observed clients of various ages with different speech language disorders including articulation, language, voice, fluency and accent modification. Observing clinicians at the speech center gave me the opportunity to learn how important client-clinician interaction is for the session and how essential it is to build a good relationship with the client. Although I learned the

There are many requirements that involve education and training, as well as personal requirements and aptitude. To be a Speech Language Pathologist, one must have a sincere interest in helping people, sensitivity, resourcefulness, and imagination. One must also be able to communicate orally and in writing. Michigan Works, an agency that assists with employment, posts jobs that display education and background requirements for obtaining a job as a Speech Language Pathologist. Some requirements include a master’s degree from a speech and hearing program certified by the ASHA, American Speech and Hearing Association, post-certification experience in an institutional setting. Home health experience is also desirable. One must graduate from high school and pass courses in biology, physics, social sciences, English, mathematics, public speaking, language, and psychology. Undergraduate courses should include a strong Arts/Science focus, linguistics, phonetics, anatomy, psychology, human development, biology, physiology, math, physical science, semantics, and social/behavioral science. To be an applicant for an SLP position, a graduate degree is required and also three hundred to three hundred seventy-five hours of clinical experience. Applicants have to pass

My intensive Speech Language Pathology coursework at California State University- Fresno has provided me with the skills to implement treatment plans, assist during speech and language assessments, and keep formal documentation of client’s progress in speech therapy. These are the necessary skills required to be an effective Speech Language Pathology Assistant and will make me as asset to have in the school speech setting.

The qualities I possess to make me a successful speech language pathologist include compassion, open-mindedness, knowing how to be a team player and how to live out the FISH philosophy which is an approach dealing with workplace issues. Compassion is important to have in order to be patient with my future clients. Throughout my college years, I served on the executive council for my sorority for two years as Vice President of Member Development. While sitting in those meetings, I learned how to be open-minded to others’ opinions on certain topics being discussed. I also had to meet with people who were having a hard time maintaining good membership status. Sitting down and talking to those individuals taught me to be objective about the individual’s circumstance and to be as fair as possible. Not only does a speech language pathologist need to be skilled in speech treatment but also with counseling the parents and loved ones of the client who feel hopeless and helpless. Being empathetic helps create a trusting relationship between the clinician, client and family. Another quality of a great speech pathologist is being able to be a team player. Most cases require the collaboration of the speech pathologist, occupational therapist, physical therapist, schoolteacher, paraprofessional, orthodontist, audiologists, and social services to

Through speech pathology, people are reached and shown compassion who are typically considered outcasts in society. SLPs work with individuals who are struggling with various sets of problems and help to solve those problems through undivided attention and spirits of patience and willingness to aid people with speech, language, and mental impairments. I believe this would be a good career fit for me due to my heart for people and my teaching spirit. My mom’s perspective of me pursuing a career as an SLP is that it would be a good fit due to my kind and gentle spirit and conduciveness with working with struggling individuals. I also have an immediate family legacy of multiple speech pathologists that work in both the medical and educational fields which increases my knowledge and familiarity with the career. While I believe that speech pathology would ultimately be a good fit for me, I tend to struggle with patience, a key component of working as an SLP, which is a challenge that I would have to work to overcome in order fulfill my role as a speech pathologist.

The scope of practice of speech-language pathology describes the ethical and clinical responsibility of clinicians to implement therapy techniques, which contains efficacy that is supported by evidence. Non-speech oral-motor exercises (NSOMEs), in particular have raised controversy among speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and researchers when treating children with articulation and phonological disorders. The use of NSOMEs is a debated issue in the profession due to the lack of evidence based practice (EBP), poor clinical assumptions, and the avoidance of meeting the client’s needs.

Before our session is to begin I need to make you aware of the privacy and confidentiality policy of the community center. HIPPA is a law enacted in 1996, to provide privacy standards to safeguard the client or potential client’s medical records and any healthcare information (HHS.gov). Here you have acknowledged you understand the HIPPA law. As a counselor I must follow a code of ethics as outline in the ACA 2104 Code of Ethic, it covers five ethical principles I must abide by respect for Autonomy(clients right to choose their own direction), non-maleficence(do no harm), beneficence ( to do good), justice( act in fair manner) and fidelity (client interest above the counselors) (ACAcounseling.org,2014).

The American Speech Language Hearing Association has a guideline for professional conduct in the field speech, language, and hearing for specialists. The list of guidelines and rules is identified as the Code of Ethics and is used by members of ASHA such as speech-language pathologists, audiologists, related clinicians, educators, administrators, and so on. It gives clear standards and expectations of how a professional should react, treat, or handle various types of people, clients, or situations. The code is organized into four principles of ethics which are supported by specific rules and regulations.

As mentioned, I noted that Jason uses behavioral, and social interactionist approach in his work. There is also a cognitive aspect as well. The behavioral approach deals in the realm of unlearning to learning a new behavior, cognitive deals in the realm of memory, how one learns and process, and social deals in the realm of culture and social with the interaction with adults. A Speech Language Pathologist encompasses many roles, and has to be agile in all approaches to meet the needs of a diverse clientele. There is no one size fit all

A plethora of different beliefs, morals, and biases exist within our society, and they can, and do, transfer across hearing and deaf cultures. Because of this, ethical dilemmas may arise between the ASL interpreter, the client, and the hiring entity. For example, say an interpreter was hired to interpret onstage for a sizable rally. They knew a few of the speakers who would be attending and agreed to interpret. Part way through the event, a speaker comes on stage who produces a lot of bigoted statements and promotes prejudiced ideas. The interpreter does not want to repeat the ideas produced by the speaker and does not want to appear to agree or disagree with them. The Interpreters’ Code of Ethics states that interpreters must,

Counselors within their specialty are part of interdisciplinary teams’ work. The ACA code of ethics provide several standards that tackle responsibilities to acquire and strengthen relationship with colleague to best serve clients (D.1.b); to focus on the wellbeing of client (D.1.c); and to clarify professional role, parameters of confidentiality, and ethical responsibilities of the team and its members (D.1.d, D.1.e).

The psychologist would be consulted to make sure that Tracy and her family are handling the stresses and changing circumstances throughout the dysphagia process. The neurologist is in charge of noting the neurological causes of this dysphagia. The occupational therapist is important in helping with the sensory and motor impairments that are connected to the current issues. The physical therapist is a vital member of the team in helping with the posturing of the individual and maintaining safe swallowing. The dentist would be beneficial in helping to address the sulcus pocketing that is occurring with her swallows and making sure that her oral health is up to functional standards. The nutritionist can make sure that Tracy is receiving the adequate nutrition she needs that follows the prescribed bolus modifications. The nurses are vital in her taking meals and medication within the rehabilitation center and maintaining Tracy’s quality of life. The social worker may be needed as well to help Tracy and her family adjust to these changes that have occurred in their lives. The patient’s family are vital in making sure that Tracy is taken care of and can use these modifications and exercises. And ultimately, Tracy is the essential member of this team. She is the one who has to follow all of these guidelines and express her wishes. Without her input, this team will not be functioning

Becoming a competent ethical therapist is more than knowing the codes of ethics in his/her profession. It is about developing the knowledge and understanding about the code of ethics to make ethical reasoning within the confines of the AAMFT and laws so the practitioner can make the best determination or choice of what to do, especially when the laws and ethical rules become obscured making it difficult to adhered to the code (Gehart, 2014). Every practitioner should always abide by the law even if it conflicts with any part of the code of ethics. But, he/she must abide by the law