Embedding Medical Ethics into Occupational Therapy Clinical Practice Education

Ethical issues in occupational therapy education are important, with a need for the
development of internship curriculum and continuing professional education. Ethics education
has evolved over the past 20 years, but international guidelines for ethics education in
occupational therapy are lacking. This review has three aims: (1) identify published contents
of ethics education in occupational therapy, (2) analyze relevant teaching methods and
evaluation tools, and (3) summarize contemporary medical ethics theories. We searched
PubMed for articles published in English from January 2015 to August 2021, with the
keywords “occupational therapy,” “ethics education,” “ethical issue,” “professionalism,”
and “moral reasoning.” Retrieved articles were reviewed to assess contemporary education
methods in the aspect of embedding medical ethics into occupational therapy clinical practice
education. The study included 29 articles. We collected and organized them in the context
of the current status in medical ethics education, including the education content, education
methods, and education fi elds, and the way to evaluate the learning eff ectiveness. This review
study provides a better understanding of contemporary medical ethic education, which shed
light on embedding medical ethics into occupational therapy clinical practice education. Future
research is warranted to improve evidence-based education methods of occupational therapy
in this understudied area.