Ethics in the Physiotherapist-Patient Relationship: What Experienced Clinicians in Spain Said in a Qualitative Interview Study

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants who want a concise, evidence-reported look at how practicing clinicians describe ethics in everyday care, what they say about the ethics training they received, and where ethical strain shows up in public and private practice settings.

Physical therapists and physical therapist assistants in all practice settings, along with clinical instructors, students, and rehabilitation managers with an interest in professional ethics and ethics education.

Intended audience

Physical Therapy

Level

Introductory

Delivery format

Online, asynchronous, self-paced course: interactive reading with audio or video, and a scored post-test.

Based on

This course reports the findings of a single qualitative study. Every claim, quotation, and figure in the course traces to the article below. The study was conducted in Spain and reports what a group of physiotherapists there described in interviews. It is not United States law, regulation, or a state board rule, and nothing in the course should be read as a statement of any jurisdiction’s requirements.

Mármol-López MI, Marques-Sule E, Naamanka K, Arnal-Gómez A, Cortés-Amador S, Durante Á, Tejada-Garrido CI, Navas-Echazarreta N, Juárez-Vela R, Gea V. Physiotherapists’ ethical behavior in professional practice: a qualitative study. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023;10:1158434. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1158434. PMID: 37529240. PMCID: PMC10390221.

Scope note

This is a descriptive report of one qualitative study. It does not establish standards of practice, and it does not satisfy any state’s ethics or jurisprudence requirement.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

1. Describe the purpose, design, and participant group of the qualitative interview study of physiotherapists' ethical behavior carried out in Spain.
2. Name the four categories the researchers identified in the interview data and state what each category covered.
3. Explain what the authors concluded about ethics training and professional attitudes, and state the limits the authors placed on their findings.

1. Start Here: How This Course Works
2. Audio Overview: Ethics in the Clinical Relationship (about nine minutes)
3. Why the Researchers Asked Physiotherapists About Ethics, and Whom They Asked
4. Inside the Interviews: How the Study Was Run and Analyzed
5. Four Themes: The Clinical Relationship, Training, Attitudes, and Real Situations
6. Public and Private Settings, and What the Study Cannot Tell Us
7. What the Authors Concluded and How It Might Inform Practice
8. Key Takeaways
9. Post-Test and Course Evaluation

Quinn Millington, PT, DPT, ECS is the instructor of record: the licensed clinician who reviewed this course and signed off on it. The name and credentials print on the certificate.

Disclosures. This course was developed by The ConEd Solution, which has a financial interest in its sale. No outside funding or sponsorship was received. The instructor of record has no affiliation with the authors of the source publication or their institutions.

This course awards 0.5 contact hours (30 min). How you earn them:

1. Complete the course. Every lesson, in order.
2. Pass the post-test. Score 80% or higher. Retakes are allowed.
3. Complete the evaluation. A short form rating each learning objective and the course.
4. Download your certificate. It is issued on completion and stays available in My Account.

The episode time is its measured length. Reading, post-test and evaluation times are estimates.

This course is designed to satisfy the quality requirements state boards set for continuing education. Requirements vary by state, and confirming that a course fits your renewal is up to you. Each state’s own acceptance statement is in the credit panel on this page.

1. This course reports the findings of a single qualitative study. Every claim, quotation, and figure in the course traces to the article below. The study was conducted in Spain and reports what a group of physiotherapists there described in interviews. It is not United States law, regulation, or a state board rule, and nothing in the course should be read as a statement of any jurisdiction's requirements.
2. Mármol-López MI, Marques-Sule E, Naamanka K, Arnal-Gómez A, Cortés-Amador S, Durante Á, Tejada-Garrido CI, Navas-Echazarreta N, Juárez-Vela R, Gea V. Physiotherapists' ethical behavior in professional practice: a qualitative study. Front Med (Lausanne). 2023;10:1158434. DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1158434. PMID: 37529240. PMCID: PMC10390221.
3. Scope note
4. This is a descriptive report of one qualitative study. It does not establish standards of practice, and it does not satisfy any state's ethics or jurisprudence requirement.