Legal and Ethical Issues
What would you do if your family was starving and you could discretely steal a loaf of bread to feed them? This is a legal and ethical dilemma. As you saw in the Learning Resources this week, legal and ethical dilemmas do occur in diagnosis and assessment, and they are intimately related; however, they do not always rest comfortably together. Although there may not always be clear answers to ethical and legal dilemmas, your ability to address them is a key factor in providing clients with the best possible care.
To prepare:
With these thoughts in mind:
Post by Day 3 your thoughts about how various legal guidelines, ethics codes, and specialty guidelines influence diagnosis and assessment in general. Reference at least one potential conflict between laws in your state, ethical guidelines, or specialty guidelines and explain how you might address the conflict.
Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.