OTA 202 - Ethics, Society, and Professional Practice

Credits: 3
Provides an overview and understanding of professional ethics and responsibilities including knowledge of ethical principles, professional development, healthcare reimbursement systems and healthcare laws. Also includes critical analysis of social issues including socioeconomics, social injustices, cultural awareness and diversity factors related to the practice of occupational therapy. Students learn through class lectures and discussions as well as practical assignments that promote critical thinking.

Prerequisite: Enrollment in OTA Program.

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Develop an understanding of, as well as use of, strategies to learn professional behaviors that make an OT and discuss strategies for life long learning.
Demonstrate the ability to effectively support and promote OT in the community, educate other professionals and be able to assist the consumer in gaining access to OT services.
Exhibit skills in cultural awareness and demonstrate the knowledge of various roles of socio-culture, socio-economic and diversity factors in society and the global social issues as well as health and welfare needs of a population.
Demonstrate knowledge of the various reimbursement systems for healthcare and their impact on OT. This includes Medicare, Medicaid and 3^rd party payers.
Discuss liability issues related to OT under current models of service provision and on a contractual basis.
Demonstrate knowledge of AOTA’s Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and use them as a guide when making ethical decisions. Also be able to identify various strategies including formal and non-formal systems for resolving ethical issues related to OT.
Identify the systems and structures that create federal and state legislation and regulations for OT practice.
Identify the potential impact of current policy issues on OT and the role of the practitioner to advocate for changes.
Demonstrate understanding supervisory and collaborative relationship of the OT/COTA and identify strategies for legal/ethical supervision of non-professional personnel and conflict resolution techniques between peers and supervisors.
Identify and use scholarly activities that can be used to evaluate professional practice, service delivery and/or professional issues.

Program Outcomes

Demonstrate mastery of the occupational therapy foundational content requirements.
Conduct and document a screening and evaluation process.
Intervene and implement occupational therapy processes.
Describe the context of occupational therapy services.
Assist in the management of occupational therapy services.
Discuss the importance of ethics, values and responsibilities in the field of occupational therapy.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.
Responsibility - Responsibility encompasses those behaviors and dispositions necessary for students to be effective members of a community. This outcome is designed to help students recognize the value of a commitment to those responsibilities which will enable them to work successfully individually and with others.
Written Communication - Written Communication encompasses all the abilities necessary for effective expression of thoughts, feelings, and ideas in written form.