Framing Interprofessional Ethics Cases

Casebooks have long been a staple in programs of professional education that place a high value on the development of critical thinking and clinical judgment in practical decision making. They appear in curricula in a variety of forms, typically involving the common elements of a narrative: a brief description of context, several characters with complex motives, and a problem or obstacle that is open to multiple interpretations. The characters have assigned professional roles and expectations. The problems they face are intended to represent the normal range of challenges in professional life. And resolutions are judged by whether learned skills and principles have been applied appropriately and are consistent with the norms of sound practice. What has gone unnoticed until now, however, is that the cases are written to apply to one profession at a time, and this limits their usefulness in the modern context of interprofessional team-based practice. Since our intent is to build students’ capacity for ethical judgment, we begin with a heuristic framework that represents a starting point for each case that opens all students to ethical thinking. Organized as a series of questions, the framework can accommodate a wide range of normative approaches without being dogmatic or prejudicial. A few simple questions can clear away features of the situation that are ethically irrelevant and can help focus reflection on what should count, ethically speaking.