The Place of Professional Ethics in Canadian Speech-Language Pathology Programs

Abstract

Professional ethics is an important skill for professionals who work in the area of health. For speech-language pathologists specifically, the constant widening of the field of practice and the increasing complexity of the needs of the aging population expose professionals to more ethical questioning. Yet, the scientific literature demonstrates that speech-language pathologists do not feel properly prepared to solve ethical issues. The main objective of this study was to examine the situation of ethics training in all Canadian programs that offer speech language pathology training. In order to meet this objective, a survey was sent to the directors of the eleven Canadian university programs in speech-language pathology. Three programs responded to the survey. The main results obtained suggest that professional ethics is a subject taught within different courses in Canadian university speech-language programs. Nevertheless, the percentage dedicated to ethics inside the courses is low and difficult to clearly estimate. These results shed light on the quantity and quality of professional ethics courses offered in the various Canadian speech-language programs, as well as on the teaching methods used.