Maine Naturopathic Physician Continuing Education

• Describe the basis of the American legal system
• Compare and contrast constitutional, statutory, common and administrative law
• List the differences between criminal and civil law
• Explain the civil litigation explosion
• Summarize tort reform

• Differentiate morals and ethics
• Explain the purpose of professional codes of ethics
• Compare and contrast legal and professional health care ethics
• Define situational ethics
• Identify the four principles of biomedical ethics

• List the external and internal factors affecting the exposure to malpractice liability
• Describe the legal basis for imposing malpractice liability of a patient injury
• Define the concept of abandonment
• Outline the four elements needed to prove malpractice
• Compare and contrast ordinary negligence versus professional negligence
• Explain vicarious liability
• Summarize defenses to malpractice actions
• Describe the importance of patient care documentation

• Describe the concept of intentional torts
• Differentiate assault and battery
• Define defamation, slander and libel
• Summarize the mandatory reporting requirements for health care professionals
• Outline the four principle forms of invasion of privacy
• Classify the types of criminal activity 
• Describe the steps in a criminal prosecution
• Explain the classifications of homicide

• Differentiate employment at will versus employment under contract
• Summarize the history of federal regulation of labor – management relations
• Describe the five major sections of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990
• Recognize sexual harassment in the workplace
• Define “ordinary reasonable person” as it pertains to sexual harassment
• Differentiate the vicarious liability of an employer relative to employees and independent contractors
• Explain the considerations in writing a letter of recommendation
• Outline the requirements for an enforceable restrictive covenant

• Summarize the antitrust laws
• Discuss the importance of the attorney – heath care professional client relationship
• Define the elements of a binding contract
• Explain breach of contract and possible contractual remedies
• Describe the various forms of business organization
• Outline the good Samaritan laws
• Recognize the requirements for HIPAA compliance
• Assess the necessity and limitations of professional liability insurance

• Summarize the major federal statutes regulating education
• Discuss federal education law derived from constitutional protections
• Outline a risk management strategy for academic discipline in health professional educational programs
• Assess liability for student conduct in the clinical setting
• Outline procedures to minimize liability when incorporating students in the clinical setting

• Explain patient informed consent to intervention
• List the requirements of sufficient informed consent
• Describe pertinent considerations in life and death decision making including euthanasia
• Recognize issues of nondiscrimination against participants in health care delivery
• Explain pro bono health care services
• Outline professional practice issues of financial responsibility and gifts
• Summarize the ethical issues of impaired providers and intra and inter-professional relations
• Define the ethical issues in research and the informed consent process

• Demonstrate the importance of communicating in an ethical manner and what that entails
• Develop an understanding of what 'spin' is, why it is unethical and how to monitor and minimize/stop it
• Evaluate the barriers to effective and ethical communication
• Develop an understanding of exactly what takes place/needs to take place during the provider/client interaction
• Discover what it is that patients want from their visits to a provider
• Appraise how to deal with challenging clients and situations
• Discover how to become a skilled helper by studying the tools of communication
• Apply listening skills to the provider's repertoire
• Demonstrate the importance of the impact of nonverbal communication on the caregiver/client relationship
• Develop, analyze and apply the verbal and nonverbal skills that will help to gather information and support the patient effectively
• Write an Ethical Communication Protocol (EPC) for your practice

• Determine how critical it is for us to take excellent are of ourselves
• Indicate the ways in which we can stay healthy physically, mentally and emotionally
• Examine the impact of stress on providers
• Recognize the issue of burnout
• Demonstrate the fiduciary duty that providers have

• Differentiate between assault and battery
• Outline various kinds of legal problems that may result from sexual impropriety claims
• Identify and describe distinctions between innocent flirtatious behavior and sexual misconduct
• Evaluate possible defenses to sexual misconduct Disciplinary complaints
• Discuss the applicability of the transference phenomenon to Doctors of Chiropractic

• Recognize the legal and ethical implications of billing, collections, fees, bartering, and financial gain
• Navigate the tricky waters of appropriate interaction with vendors/suppliers.
• Understand the fiduciary relationship that governs patient-doctor interactions.
• Grade your role as the chiropractor in all professional inter-relationships, including staff, patients, peers.
• Use self-assessment techniques to stay compliant in all areas of ethics and boundaries.

• Identify legal prohibitions against promising healthcare cures, guaranteeing treatment results, and deceptive patient communication.
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate communication relating to patients' healthcare prognoses and progress.
• Explain scientific literature linking patients' mental states with healthcare outcomes.
• Demonstrate alignment between compliance with states' current patient communication restrictions and instances of patient encouragement that foster mental states favorable to desired healthcare outcomes.
• Explain office procedures and staff training which are likely to ensure ongoing ethical patient communication and the documentation thereof.

• Identify challenging/inappropriate patient requests and behaviors encountered by chiropractors.
• Explain prevention strategies, office procedures and effective responses to inappropriate patient activity.
• Describe safety concerns associated with a patient's inappropriate acts and communications, as well as ethical principles related thereto.
• Illustrate legal and ethical issues arising where the doctor/patient relationship is terminated due to inappropriate patient behavior.
• Analyze how aberrant patient behavior presents risks to staff, the treating doctor, and to fellow patients, and how proper documentation is important in such instances.

Hour 1

• Define Ethics
• Review various ethical issues recently reported on
• Identify ethics as related to the whistleblower
• Discuss Ethical standards specific to laws in various states

Hour 2

• Discuss Ethical standards specific to laws in various states (cont’d)
• Summarize awareness related to anti-discrimination
• Classify various aspects of professional boundaries and sexual misconduct

• Define anti-aging medicine
• Compare and contrast the differing opinions on anti-aging medicine
• List the moral questions associate with the anti-aging movement
• Describe how the anti-aging movement is viewed from a feminist perspective

• Describe the moral questions concerning home care for the elderly
• Identify the relationship between the cared for and the care giver
• Explain the focus of governmental programs for dependent elderly care
• List the values necessary to support elder care at home

• Outline the history of the nursing home
• Describe the evolution of bioethical thought on nursing home care
• List strategies for creating a more ethical nursing home environment
• Ways nursing homes can aid residents in addressing end-of-life concerns

• Give examples of the roots of an ageist attitude in the United States
• Describe the dynamics of the power relationship between care giver and cared for
• Explain the issues involved in setting boundaries in the institutional environment
• Describe the difference between independent and relational autonomy

• Define elder abuse, neglect and self-neglect
• Describe the “expressive – collaborative” model of approaching ethics
• Compare and contrast the classical definition of autonomy with “actual autonomy”
• Explain how remaining in an abusive / neglectful environment may constitute the best alternative for an individual

• Cite the historical perspective on senility
• Describe how the pervasive bioethical viewpoint affects the experience of people with dementia
• Explain the concepts of dignity
• Compare and contrast various definitions of dignity relative to those with dementia

• List the foundational assumptions that define advance care planning in the United States
• Differentiate hospice care from palliative care
• Describe the issues that arise when individual choice is the main focus of advance care planning
• Explain how the modern culture of medicine influences end – of – life care
• Compare and contrast the current approach towards end – of – life care with the authors. “bottom up,” approach

• Cite examples of how the elderly have been marginalized during disasters
• Define what is meant by the “axes of susceptibility”
• Identify the ethical obligation to the elderly during major disasters
• Describe how planning, communication and coordination is an ethical imperative in disasters
• Explain the concept of “place holding,” and how it fits into disaster planning

• Define morality and ethics and distinguish between the two
• Describe three moralities that health professionals must integrate into their own moral life
• Identify some major sources of moral beliefs in Western societies
• Distinguish between an ethical issue and ethical problem
• List three ways that ethics is useful in everyday professional practice
• Describe what material cooperation entails
• Identify some mechanisms available to protect the personal moral convictions of health professionals

• This contains all courses with the educational objectives listed from Ethics for Professionals 101 to Ethics for Professionals 105.

• Identify the goal of professional ethics activity.
• Describe the basic idea of a caring response and some ways this response in a professional relationship is distinguished from expressions of care in other types of relationships.
• Identify three component parts of any ethical problem.
• Describe what an agent is and, more importantly, what it is to be a moral agent.
• Name the three prototypical ethical problems.
• Describe the role of emotions in ethical distress.
• Distinguish between two varieties of ethical distress.
• Compare the fundamental difference between ethical distress and an ethical dilemma.
• Define ethical paternalism or parentalism.
• Describe a type of ethical dilemma that challenges a professionals desire (and duty) to treat everyone fairly and equitably.
• Identify the fundamental difference between distress or dilemma problems and locus of authority problems.
• Identify four criteria that will assist you in deciding who should assume authority for a specific ethical decision to achieve a caring response.
• Become familiar with AOTA and APTA Code of Ethics
• Become familiar with the Guide to Professional Conduct for PT
• Indiana PTs - become familiar with the IN PT Rules and Practice Act
• Texas PTs - become familiar with the TX PT Rules and Practice Act
• Utah PTs - become familiar with the UT PT Rules and Practice Act

• Identify six steps in the analysis of ethical problems encountered in everyday professional life and how each plays a part in arriving at a caring response.
• Describe the central role of narrative and virtue theories in gathering relevant information for a caring response.
• List four areas of inquiry that will be useful when gathering relevant information to make sure you have the story straight.
• Describe the role of conduct-related ethical theories and approaches in arriving at a caring response.
• Describe why imagination is an essential aspect of seeking out the practical alternatives in an ethically challenging situation.
• Discuss how courage assists you in a caring response.
• Identify two benefits of taking time to reflect on and evaluate the action afterward.
• Become familiar with AOTA and APTA Code of Ethics
• Become familiar with the Guide to Professional Conduct for PT's