Moving vs Making it Work by Maggie Oberlies

1. Ethical Dilemma

1.1. Sandy who is an Occupational Therapist (OT) and who had been working with Kathy, an eighty year old woman who had a recent stroke. Her primary caregiver is her thirty year old son who Sandy, the OT has not met yet. Kathy frequently mentions that her son is always at work, so she struggles to do her daily occupations alone in the house. Because of her stroke, her left side of her body has lost feeling. Since she has lost feeling in her left side of her body, she is mostly confined to her bed or a chair. When her son is around, she is pushed around in a wheelchair, but because she has had minimum professional help she can’t push the wheelchair herself. With this knowledge of Kathy’s situation, Sandy is conflicted on whether she should talk with Kathy about moving into assisted living vs. staying at home where she is comfortable.

1.1.1. Stake Holders

1.1.1.1. Sandy: OT Practitioner

1.1.1.2. Kathy: Client

1.1.1.3. Kathy's son: Primary Caregiver

2. Core Values

2.1. Altruism

2.1.1. As an OT practitioner, Sandy knows she has to address her concern of the lack of assistance Kathy receives on a daily basis at home in order to promote the safety of her client.

2.2. Truth

2.2.1. When Sandy voices her concerns to Kathy, she must be truthful in explaining the signs that led her to believe Kathy did not have enough support at home.

3. Ethical Principles

3.1. Beneficence

3.1.1. Even though Kathy has mentioned the absence of her son during the day, Sandy does not believe Kathy understands the full extent of the lack of assistance she is receiving at home. As Kathy's OT, Sandy feels she needs to demonstrate her concern for Kathy's safety.

3.2. Nonmaleficence

3.2.1. Sandy wants to address her concerns to Kathy before taking action on her own as it might cause harm to Kathy if she had to be taken away from her family.

4. 2 Possibilities

4.1. Going straight to an assisted living facility since she feels her observations are enough evidence.

4.1.1. Have a trained professional analyze/assess the situation.

4.1.2. Not involving Kathy in the process.

4.2. Speaking directly with Kathy and her son.

4.2.1. Sandy is involving Kathy in the process and considering her point of view for when making decisions.

4.2.2. Kathy might feel she needs to stand up for her son and not disclose the whole truth about her living situation with her son present.

5. Best Course of Action

5.1. Sandy decides to speak with Kathy and her son directly because she knows that it would be more affective to hear their perspectives and understand how she can assist both Kathy and her son in figuring out what works best for both of them. Doing this will help prevent the absence of quality care for Kathy and also allow her son to live his best life but also better understand how he can help his mother.