Ethics in Physical Therapy Course
Statement of Appropriateness/Course Description
This is an intermediate level course, and it meets the NJSBPTE 2.5 hr. requirement for ethics instruction.
Participants for this in-person course will review key foundational ethics concepts including the PT Code of Ethics and Core Values and their relationship to APTA’s Vision Statements. A variety of approaches to ethical decision-making will be introduced and considered/discussed with participants including: the Four Principles (Beauchamp & Childress), the RIPS Model (Arslanian, Swisher & Davis), and the Four Box Model (Jones et. al.) Current ethical issues to be discussed will include provision of service decisions, productivity, billing, use of artificial intelligence, and patient relations. Group discussion and interaction will be utilized to foster achievement of course objectives
Fee: $60.00
Early Bird Fee until September 22, 2025: $55.00
Course Objectives
By the conclusion of this course, participants will:
1. Discuss the revised/current and original PT professional core values.,
2. Indicate an understanding of the relationship between the Core Values, the PT Code of Ethics, and the vision statements.
3. Discuss multiple approaches to analyze ethical situations in physical therapy practice.
4. Identify ethical challenges found in current physical therapy practice including those related to the provision of services including (referral, delegation, and discharge), productivity, billing, use of artificial intelligence, and patient relations.
5. Evaluate potential resolutions of these ethical challenges in the current health care environment.
6. Articulate the rationale for the selected optimal solution to the discussed ethical challenge.
Speaker: Lee Ann Guenther, PT, DPT, MS, is the founder and president of Milestone Physical Therapy Services LLC. She has been a NJ licensed physical therapist since earning her entry-level degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980. Dr. Guenther has practiced in a variety of NJ clinical settings including acute rehab, homeware, outpatient, long term care, schools and Early Intervention.
Dr. Guenther has also taught entry level, post-professional, and inter professional ethics classes at Stockton University; she has also taught the NJSBPTE approved ethics continuing education courses since the requirement was first initiated in the 2008-2010 license cycle. Dr. Guenther’s research has involved inter professional education, core values and ethics. She has presented her work at national and international conferences; and, she has also published in the Journal of Allied Health Professions, the PT Journal, and the Journal of the HPA Section of the APTA.
She has served as a member of the NJSBPTE and past Chair of the aptaNJ Ethics Committee on which she continues to serve. Recently Dr. Guenther served as a content expert in “professional practice” for the APTA’s Academy of Leadership & Innovation (ALI) that is part of Ali’s new Management Certification process. Dr. Guenther continued her commitment and study of ethics by completing a graduate certificate in Bioethics and Health Policy at Loyola University in Dec. 2022.
