CA: Ethical Decisions in Physical TherapyPage 9 of 10

7. Conclusion

Physical therapists may no longer defer ethical decision making to other healthcare providers with whom they share patient responsibility. They must recognize their responsibility as autonomous practitioners to work on ethical quandaries in order to find a reasonable solution that is in the best interest of the patient. To accomplish this professional mandate, physical therapists must know ethical principles and be able to apply the principles effectively to ethical situations and then to analyze the outcomes.