Krystle Mitchell

Ethical Situation: Teach Me

Teach Me: You are a Level II student on fieldwork. Your supervisor is a very nice,
friendly, reasonable person, but hes not a great teacher. He tells you that everything you
are doing with clients is great, but does challenge you, teach you any new skills, or
techniques. The majority of the time that you are with clients, he is not present. He is on
the phone with his wife, reading magazines in his office, or lounging at the hospitals
coffee shop. You feel like you are not growing or learning, and want to get the most out
of your fieldwork experience, but dont want to cause trouble at your fieldwork site.
What makes this situation an ethical dilemma? Using the AOTA code of ethics,
state which principles apply and why.
The situation where a supervisor is not providing adequate guidance and supervision is a
very worrisome environment and experience. First of all, it is the supervisors job to
make sure that the clients are adequately being cared for. Therefore, it is important to be
aware of what the student is doing, and be close by for any assistance needed. If
something goes wrong, or the student needs help, the supervisors absence could lead to a
dangerous or harmful situation. Also, as a fieldwork supervisor, they should be accessible
for the student to learn from and be guided by. Therefore, their absence may hinder the
students experience and opportunity to grow as a practicing OT. Though there should be
some room to grow and practice skilled services with independence, it is important for
the supervisor to be active in a supervising role to make sure the clients are getting the
best care possible and the student is receiving the best practical education possible.
Some possible ethical issues from the AOTA code of ethics may include:

Provide appropriate supervision in accordance with AOTA Official Documents and

relevant laws, regulations, policies, procedures, standards, and guidelines.
Ensure that all duties delegated to other occupational therapy personnel are congruent
with credentials, qualifications, experience, competency, and scope of practice with
respect to service delivery, supervision, fieldwork education, and research.
Provide occupational therapy services, including education and training, that are
within each practitioners level of competence and scope of practice.
Avoid exploiting any relationship established as an occupational therapy clinician,
educator, or researcher to further ones own physical, emotional, financial, political,
or business interests at the expense of recipients of services, students, research
participants, employees, or colleagues.

Within these guidelines, it is established that the supervisor should provide appropriate
supervision, delegate appropriate tasks, provide adequate education, avoid exploiting
students, and provide students with access to information.
Who are the parties concerned? What is the nature of their interest and why are
they concerned?
The parties concerned would include the supervisor, the student, the fieldwork
supervisor, the facility, the university program. Depending on the level of neglect, the
parties concerned may increase. The student should be concerned for their own
educational purposes and the well-being of their clients. This may also cross into future
students and their education. The supervisor should be concerned because they may not
be adequately educated or trained to take on student, they may be endangering clients,
they may not be following the facilities policies. The fieldwork supervisor would be
concerned because they want to send students to a well-rounded location with a
supervisor that will be informative and helpful in providing an OT experience. The
school ma also be concerned to make sure the program is adequately providing the
education they state they provide.
What other information is needed before action is taken?
I think it would be important to know how often this happens. If the supervisor has been
talked to by the facility, fieldwork supervisor, or student. The supervisor may just not
understand his role as a supervisor, or he may be misinformed. It is important to provide
him with information and guidance about appropriate procedure.
What are your choices? For each choice indicate possible consequences.
Talk to the supervisor This could lead to clarification. The supervisor may take a more
active role. The supervisor could get annoyed with the student telling him what to do or
how to spend his time. This could lead to an awkward work environment
Talk to the facility The facility may do an in-service about how to work with students,
they could talk to the supervisor who could listen or disregard the advice. They may not
do anything. The supervisor could get in trouble and then take it out on the student and
their performance grade
Talk to the fieldwork supervisor This could result in the fieldwork supervisor talking to
the site supervisor and resolving confusion. Conditions could change or stay the same for
the rest of the time
Just wait it out Things could get better with more involvement. The student may be put
in harmful and confusing situations without guidance. The student may miss out on
important practical education.
Name 2 possible systems (formal or informal) for resolving professional ethical
disputes (your answers must reflect systems that have jurisdiction over OT
practice).
U of U MOT Fieldwork supervisor, Program director, other faculty
AOTA American Occupational Therapy Association
DOPL Department of Professional Licensure Board