Professional Practice and Legal Issues Online Course

COURSE CURRICULUM

LESSON 1 – Introduction – shared CAM values and characteristics, the holistic view, capacity for self-healing, prevention, the political context of CAM

LESSON 2 – What Do We Mean by Ethics – practicing ethically, agreeing on right and wrong, case of universal ethics

LESSON 3 – Ethical Theories in Health Care – consequence-based theories, duty-based theories, questioning the legitimacy of rules, Kantian deontology, virtual ethics, principle-based ethics, respect for justice

LESSON 4 – Professional Codes of Ethics – what is a professional, a profession, behaving ethically, professional codes of ethics, the scope of ethical codes

LESSON 5 – The Law – legal duty of care, trespass, negligence, legal requirements

LESSON 6 – Do alternative therapies require an alternative ethical framework? – western and non-western values, alternative ethical theories, ethics of care, narrative-based ethics

LESSON 7 – Ethical Issues Common to all Therapists – respect for autonomy, competence, problems in formalizing competencies, making realistic claims, cross specialization

LESSON 8 – Research – political agenda, the rise of evidence-based medicine, conducting formal CAM research, devising research methodologies, consent, confidentiality, risk

LESSON 9 – Supervision – competencies of a supervisor, resistance to supervision, securing the patient’s consent, continuing professional development, understanding reflective practice

LESSON 10 – Maintaining Boundaries and Preventing Abuse – prone to abuse, lack of formal regulation, defining professional abuse, appropriate boundaries

LESSON 11 – Respect for autonomy and consent

LESSON 12 – Confidentiality and patient records

LESSON 13 – Issues related to justice

COURSE MATERIALS

All the study materials, downloadable lessons in .pdf format, videos, assignments, and final exams are all online.