Beth is an occupational therapy student in her 11th week of her 1st Level II Fieldwork. She has a full caseload of her own that she is responsible for on a daily basis. Her fieldwork educator, Corinne, has a few patients that she sees on her own, without Beth in the room. At the end of the day, Corinne states that she has to leave early that day and asks Beth to write all the treatment notes, even for those clients that Beth did not see.
Corinne states that she wrote down what she did with each client, and Beth can base her notes on that. Corinne will then sign the notes the next morning. When Beth says she is not comfortable writing the notes, Corinne states that no one will ever know that Beth wrote them, and if anyone asks, to just lie.
Ethical Dilemma: Justice
Action step to resolve:
- Report and inform appropriate authorities of any acts in practice, education, and research that are unethical or illegal.
Professional and reliability issues:OT student should inform others of the situation to receive support for current condition because the therapist wants to keep it a secret.
- Collaborate with employees to form policies or procedures that are in compliance with the ethical standards.
Professional and reliability issues:Student should ask the OT about current policy and documentation within their setting.
- Bill and collect fees legally and justly in a manner that is fair with the services that were delivered.
Professional and reliability issues: Because the student was not in the session they do not know if the OT really performed what was stated in the notes; therefore, the student might be billing the patient for services not rendered.
Decision: The OT student should address the issue by going to the OT's superior and contacting her fieldwork educator. The OT student should make it aware to the OT that it is unethical for the student to have to document for both caseloads which affects the amount of work that is being produced.
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