LADEIRA, Talita Leite; SILVA JUNIOR, Aluísio Gomes da e KOIFMAN, Lilian. Ethical foundations of decision-making in physical therapy students. Interface (Botucatu) [online]. In press. . Epub 16-Nov-2016. ISSN 1414-3283. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/1807-57622016.0273.
Clinical decision-making should encompass technical and ethical aspects. It is necessary to recognize the ethical conflicts and to understand the moral values involved in order to provide efficient responses to ethical issues present in practice. This descriptive qualitative study aimed to understand the perception of students of physical therapy about the moral values that should guide care actions and to identify the ethical foundations of the decision-making process. The study included 13 students of physical therapy of a Federal University in Brazil. The study applied individual semi-structured interviews proposing an hypothetical moral dilemma correlated with professional practice. We noted deficiency in the bioethical reference framework of students exposed to conflicts. Thus, there is a need to rethink the professional education in order to promote a more conscious and responsive healthcare decision-making.
Palavras-chave : Bioethics; Decision-making; Physical therapy.
