Description
Presenter: Amy Williams, PhD
Overview.
This presentation explores the “Bioethics Rainbow,” a framework for understanding and navigating the distinct ethical principles that guide key healthcare disciplines that psychologists collaborate with in patient care: physicians, social workers, and chaplains. While each profession is committed to patient well–being, their unique training and professional codes can lead to divergent approaches to common ethical dilemmas. Psychologists emphasize autonomy and strict confidentiality,grounding their practice in the therapeutic relationship (American Psychological Association, 2017). Physicians, guided by principles such as beneficence and non-maleficence, often prioritize clinical outcomes and physical health (American Medical Association, 2001). Social workers bring a lens of social justice and the person in-environment perspective, advocating for patients within their broader systemic context (National Association of Social Workers (NASW), 2021). Chaplains focus on a patient’s spiritual well-being, helping them find meaning and peace in illness.
This presentation will identify potential areas of ethical tension arising from these different perspectives, such as conflicts between patient autonomy and clinical beneficence, or between confidentiality and team-based care (Beauchamp andnd Childress, 2019). The second half of the presentation will be focused on formulating concrete strategies for mterprofessional communication and ethical reasoning (Wynia, 2010). By promoting a culture of active listening and mutual respect for diverse ethical frameworks, healthcare teams can move beyond conflict to achieve a more comprehensive and holistic approach to patient care.
Objectives.
- Differentiate core ethical principles that primarily guide the practice of psychologists and those they typically collaborate with in patient care, including physicians (MDs), social workers, and chaplains within a medical center setting.
- Identify potential areas of ethical tension or collaboration arising from the distinct professional codes of ethics among these different healthcare disciplines.
- Formulate strategies for interprofessional communication and ethical reasoning to navigate complex patient care situations that involve diverse ethical perspectives from the “bioethics rainbow.”
About the Presenter.
Dr. Williams completed her PhD in Clinical Psychology at Wayne State University in Detroit and residency and fellowship at Geisinger Medical Center. As a clinical health psychologist, she has spent her career integrated within medical teams, working to support medical teams and their patients. In this role, she witnessed the joys and burdens of complex patient care on the medical team and worked to support the team in their mission of whole person care – which also meant supporting the care team as whole people as well. Dr. Wiliams is the Director of Graduate Medical Education Well-being at Henry Ford Health where she is dedicated to the thriving, not just surviving, of all those in GME – residents, fellows, faculty, and coordinators. Her work bridges clinical excellence, education, and compassionate care, with a focus on supporting those engaged in medical education. In this role she develops, implements, and evaluates programming focused on promoting thriving across Henry Ford Health’s 70 plus residency and fellowship programs. Additionally, she provides clinical evaluation, referral, and solution–focused psychological treatment as part of the Physician Specialty Clinic, which provides behavioral health care to residents, fellows, and physicians across Henry Ford Health. In research, Dr. Williams examines the role of social support, psychological distress, cognition and literacy, and other psychosocial and socioeconomic variables on cancer care and care disparities in head and neck cancer, in addition to well-being of the healthcare workforce. Dr. Williams represents the Society for Health Psychology on APA’s Council of Representatives, is a member of APA’s Ethics Committee, Secretary for the Michigan Psychological Association, and is President Elect for the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APAHC – Sect 8, Div 12).
CE Information
1 hour of CE
Cost
FREE for MEMBERS
$40.00 for Non-Members
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