Presenter: Paula Leslie, PhD, FRCSLT, CCC-SLP
– A.H., prior course participant
This course was designed to fill the information void on ethical decision making for individuals with dysphagia. When striving for autonomy and the push for clinical beneficence clash, service providers need sound advice based on current best practice. Participants will learn a comprehensive model of medical ethics that can be successfully applied to their practice to better manage complex cases.
Values, morals and professional codes related to a variety of challenging situations that often occur in everyday practice will be examined and discussed. Situations involving informed consent, patient refusal, treatment options including oral vs non-oral feeding, and when and how to terminate services will be addressed. The need to maintain robust and clinically relevant records and specific documentation suggestions to achieve this will also be discussed.
Course is offered for 0.3 ASHA CEUs – 3 Contact Hours.
Course Overview – Run Time: 3:00:01
– A.J., prior course participant
The content of this online CE course does not focus exclusively on any specific proprietary product or service. Presenter financial and non-financial disclosures may be found in the Presenter & Disclosures area.
Video PowerPoint presentation with author narration & downloadable handout. Stop and re-start the course at any point. Learners retain access to course content after completion for ongoing reference and review.
"Beneficial discussion of caregivers making decisions and why. Experienced presenter." S.N. (Oct. 2024)
"I have listened to Paula Leslie in-person & online courses for years. She is excellent & I always improve in increasing my awareness of personal bias, improving ethical decision-making with her relatable client/patient/family scenarios backed by research/ sources! I liked all of it!" A.H. (Aug. 2024)
"Review of ASHA code of ethics was helpful. The speaker's voice held my attention." R.V. (Jul. 2024)
"The focus on the role of the patient in shared decision-making and supporting literature was beneficial. I liked the case examples and supporting literature." T.B. (Mar. 2024)
"Very practical to all clinicians practicing regardless of setting. I liked the review of legal documents for end-of-life decisions." S.S. (Dec. 2023)
"This course was a good review of ethical expectations in clinical care." P.R. (Nov. 2023)
"The issues on medical ethics and patient autonomy are important ones. I also appreciated the information on bias. I see this so often in the nursing homes where I work. I enjoyed the areas covered, including the resources mentioned." S.L. (Oct. 2023)
"Easy to navigate course. I liked the shared decision-making." L.G. (Oct. 2023)
"Discussing the patient who is unwilling to participate, as well as having your loved ones write advanced directives were beneficial topics. I liked that the presenter gave examples and did not just talk about research studies." R.P. (Sep. 2023)
"Encouragement and support for SLPs to get more involved in process of patients completing advanced directives." A.R. (Sep. 2023)
"The discussion on ethics and clinical decision-making was helpful. A description of the various end-of-life documents was also helpful." D.J. (Aug. 2023)
"I liked the thoroughness of speaker. Ethics and pt education." C.E. (Aug. 2023)
"The content of this entire course was excellent." C.S. (Jul. 2023)
"How to assess and apply research AND how to navigate shared decision making were beneficial topics." M.A. (Jun. 2023)
"All of it was beneficial. I teach ethics at Colorado Technical University, and I teach much of the same content. I liked the focus on patient decision-making." C.E. (Jun. 2023)
"This course was interesting." S.W. (Jun. 2023)
"Excellent presentation. The entire course was beneficial." Y.C. (May 2023)
"I liked the case examples and weighing different decision-making options." M.M. (Mar. 2023)
"Learning to be more personally understanding of caregiver stress and ensure patient/caregiver understanding of treatment proposed. I liked the personal examples and resources listed." J.S. (Feb. 2023)
"Informative course - SLP involvement in PEG tube decisions." J.B. (Feb. 2023)
"I liked the anecdotal information and personal stories related to the various topics." V.S. (Feb. 2023)
"All content was relevant. Patient caregiver perspectives." P.B. (Feb. 2023)
"End-of-life care discussion was beneficial." N.H. (Feb. 2023)
"I liked the specific approaches and the depth of information." S.S. (Dec. 2022)
"I never thought of patient motivation being a bias for a clinician. I can see now how that can interfere with patient care. Easy to understand course." A.J. (Dec. 2022)
"Comprehensive course. Considering personal bias and understanding patient motivation was beneficial." C.C. (Dec. 2022)
"This course gave me more insight and perspective. I found the information about shared decision-making, value approach, and effects of caring for a loved one to be informative. I thought this course was extremely intensive, well organized, and offered great detail across many domains where ethics play a part in our field." A.H. (Dec. 2022)
"I liked the presenter's personal experiences and examples." J.G. (Nov. 2022)
"Interesting presentation overall which was presented in a more directly applicable way based on how the ethical problems might present in practice." C.C. (Nov. 2022)
"The course is easy to follow." J.S. (Nov. 2022)
"Good discussion and explanations of ASHA Code of Ethics." H.S. (Oct. 2022)
"The topics of ethics and EBP were beneficial to my daily practice." V.M. (Oct. 2022)
"I will recommend this course to my colleagues." T.T. (Sept. 2022)
"The SLPs involvement in end of life care. I liked being able to complete the course as time permits and not all in one sitting." T.B. (Aug. 2022)
"I liked the speaker's personal experiences and examples. This course provided information regarding documentation for patient directing care." A.F. (Aug. 2022)
"The flow and format of the course were good." R.R. (Jun. 2022)
"Liked that this topic related to communicating with patients, families, and caregivers about difficult situations and decisions." J.G. (May 2022)
"Thorough course, yet concise. Everything was applicable, and I specifically liked the case scenarios as they were generally applicable to my inpatient setting." M.R. (Apr. 2022)
"I liked the review of ASHA code of ethics and that I could get all 3 of my required ethics hours in a more in-depth, single course." M.S. (Feb. 2022)
"I found personal bias to be an interesting topic with relevance to my clinical decision making. The logical steps involved in end of life and respecting patient wishes. Paula's valuable insight!" J.F. (Jan. 2022)
"I liked the case studies – looking at ethics from multiple standpoints and how the patient/family is involved in patient care and decision making." E.M. (Jan. 2022)
"Thoroughness of information – I liked the speaker's rate, presentation style and amount of information." A.L. (Jan. 2022)
"I found the whole of the workshop to be beneficial. Good pace to the information presented." M.N. (Jan. 2022)
"How to handle clients who can be unmotivated and refuse treatment. Personal touch with her own experience in a clinic setting." J.M. (Jan. 2022)
"Discussions and recommendations about how to interact with patients and families in real life situations. Very well organized, and the presenter did an excellent job with concepts in ethics that can sometimes be confusing." K.M. (Dec. 2021)
"I liked the presentation of clinical situations and case examples related to ethical considerations." L.P. (Dec. 2021)
"The discussions about when the patient or family wants things that you feel are ill advised. The specific examples and anecdotes." S.B. (Dec. 2021)
"The discussion of clinician bias and the topic of evidence based practice as it relates to ethical practices. The presentation of clinical situations or case examples related to ethical considerations." L.P. (Dec. 2021)
"The entire discussion will benefit my daily practice, even though I work with school-age children primarily, and in SNF on a part-time basis." T.O. (Dec. 2021)
"Presenter was interesting, easy to listen to. Learning the relationship between evidence based practice and ethics." D.F. (Nov. 2021)
"Liked the discussion on End of Life decision-making and our role as SLPs. And the clear operationalized terms." L.B. (Nov. 2021)
"Great presenter! Awareness of patient motivation bias. It was something I'd not considered before." S.O. (Nov. 2021)
"The discussion that we are part of an interdisciplinary team and the decisions don't fall on us. Ability to listen in chunks and give thought in between." K.R. (Nov. 2021)
"I liked the importance of values, personal bias and the professional code of ethics in our profession. The speaker was very knowledgeable and provided excellent examples." M.L. (Nov. 2021)
“I like that this course encouraged an open-mind when working with patients and families and encouraged discussions to reduce personal biases when making ultimate decisions with our care.” D.M. (Oct. 2021)
"The entire presentation was highly relevant. The flexibility of the course – able to fit it into my schedule and needs." E.N. (Sept. 2021)
"Link between ethics and evidence based practice – very well presented and helpful identifying my own biases. I liked the presenter's professionalism, organization of her material, and manner of presenting – easy to follow and interesting." E.S. (Aug. 2021)
"I found the information regarding end-of-life advanced directives beneficial." L.M. (Jun. 2021)
"Overall, great course with crucial information to be aware of especially as a starting clinician." E.M. (May 2021)
"The discussion of autonomy and non-maleficence was good. Helps me stay attuned to clinical topics." A.J. (May 2021)
"I appreciated going over all the emotional, legal and professional aspects involved in the care of a patient. Everything was explained in a very clear manner." R.O. (May 2021)
"I like Paula Leslie’s examples from her own experience as well as from research, both within the SLP practice and outside of it. I appreciated the discussion that sometimes it is up to the SLP to open up communication about patients preferences for care; during treatment and end of life decisions." N.S. (Apr. 2021)
"The speaker provided clear examples of Autonomy, Beneficence, etc. The speaker’s rate of speech made it easy to follow. Talking about patient motivation and understanding what pt understands or their perspective for framing treatment goals and the use of VALUE concept when working with pt and/or pt family was most helpful." J.M. (Mar. 2021)
“I liked the examples she gave to better explain terms or scenarios you may experience in the hospital or nursing home facility when working alongside family members.” A.A. (Feb. 2021)
Northern Speech Services is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Course
approval #19433. This eCourse is
offered at 0.3 CEUs, educational level
Intermediate, 1. Professional Issues: Issues and Trends: Ethics; Evidence-based practice; Contemporary Issues and Trends; Ethics. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not
imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.
Paula Leslie, PhD, FRCSLT, CCC-SLP, is a professor and director of the Doctor of Clinical Science in Medical Speech-Language Pathology. She maintains full clinical licenses in the USA and UK where she is a Specialist Adviser to the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapy in swallowing disorders. She provides support to researchers and provides continuing education from grassroots to international level and across the health professions on complex clinical decision making, ethics, and end of life decisions in vulnerable populations. Her honors include the Honors of the Association Southwestern Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association DiCarlo Clinical Achievement Award, the Pennsylvania Speech-Language-Hearing Association Clinical Achievement Award, and Fellow of the Royal College of Speech & Language Therapists (UK).
Speaker Disclosures:
Financial — Paula Leslie is a presenter of online CE courses sponsored by Northern Speech Services; receives royalties.
Nonfinancial — Paula Leslie has no relevant nonfinancial relationships to disclose.
This program is offered for 0.3 ASHA CEUs (Intermediate Level; Professional Area).
ASHA CEUs: NSS online courses are registered with ASHA and are offered for ASHA CEUs. The number of ASHA CEUs is noted above. Note that 0.1 ASHA CEU = 1 contact hour = equals 1 CEE.
ASHA CE Registry: During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.
If an attendee is not an ASHA member or CCC holder but meets any of the above criteria, they may inform the ASHA CE Registry of their eligibility by visiting this site.
Additional accrediting agencies by which Northern Speech is an approved CE provider:
Course Completion Timeframe:
You have unlimited time to complete our online courses. You may log off and log on as often as you’d like to in order to complete all sections of a course.
However, completion dates are based on Eastern Standard Time. Therefore, if you need your CEUs by a certain date, be sure to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on that date. For example, if you need CEUs before January 1st, you will need to complete the course test before 11:59pm EST on December 31st.
Content Access:
Access to course materials and content does not expire, even after completing the post test. You may continue to review course material by logging into your NSS account, clicking the My Online Courses tab, and then viewing your desired course.
Certificate of Completion:
On successful completion of the post test (80%), a certificate will be immediately available for download and/or printing. This certificate will include your name, date of completion (based on Eastern Time Zone, USA/Canada), and number of contact hours (CEUs / CEEs). Please note that CEUs are awarded on the date of successful test completion, not the date of course enrollment. Please ensure that you successfully complete the post test prior to any licensure renewal dates.
ASHA CE Registry Submission:
During the enrollment process, if you select to receive ASHA credit for this course and if you provide your ASHA number, NSS will automatically submit your CEU information to the ASHA CE Registry after successful course completion (80% on post test). This submission happens once per month, during the first week of the month. For example, if you complete your course on November 7th, NSS will submit all November online course CEUs to ASHA during the first week of December. When ASHA inputs the information into their database, they will mark the course as completed on the last day of the month in which it was completed, so November 30th using this example. The certificate of completion available for you to print immediately, however, will reflect the actual completion date, November 7th in this example. Due to ASHA processing procedures please allow 2-3 weeks, from the submission date, for the course to appear on your ASHA transcript.
Purchase Orders:
Purchase orders are currently not accepted for online orders, if you wish to submit a purchase order please do so at info@northernspeech.com or fax to 888-696-9655.
What is an Online Course?
Our Online Courses consist of video, audio, and/or text content and are offered for ASHA CEUs. Unlike a webinar, which requires participants to be logged on and at a computer at specific times, our Online Courses are available to you at any time, from any device, via your NorthernSpeech.com online account. You may work at your own pace and start and stop your course as you wish. Your course will conclude with a short post test. On successful completion of the post test (>80%), a printable certificate of completion is presented to you.
Receiving CEUs:
Northern Speech is an ASHA CE Provider and our online courses are registered with ASHA and offered for ASHA CEUs. Please note that successful completion of the online post test is required prior to the awarding of CEUs. Please contact your state licensing board for acceptance policies related to CEUs earned online. Please note that courses offered for university students are not applicable for CEUs.
Registering for an online course:
You may browse all online courses by clicking the Continuing Education tab above, then Online Courses. Once you find a course, click Enroll Now, and you will be asked to either log into your existing Northern Speech account or create a new online account. Once you’ve entered your account information and provided your credit card payment, your course will be immediately available to you.
Accessing your purchased course or returning to a purchased course:
You will be able to access your online course by logging into your Northern Speech account and then clicking the My Online Courses tab on your profile screen. Click the course you would like to start or to resume. From there, proceed through the course sections until you are ready to complete the post test. You do not have to complete your course all at once. You may log on and off as you wish.
Testing requirements:
Each online course concludes with a post test consisting of multiple choice or true & false questions. Scores of 80% or greater are required for successful course completion and awarding of CEUs. You may revisit course materials and retest as needed to achieve a passing score.
Number of CEUs offered:
We offer courses from 1 to 21 contact hours. Each course will note the number of CEUs offered. Please note that 0.1 CEU = 1 contact hour = 1 CEE.
State licensing boards and online CEUs:
NSS is an ASHA CE Provider and most state licensing boards DO accept ASHA CEUs earned online (usually classified as home-study credits). Some boards do, however, place a limit to the number of CEUs that can be earned via home study/online courses. For the most current information, we suggest that you contact your licensing board or agency to verify acceptance policies and/or any CEU limits related to home-study courses prior to enrolling in an online course.
Course formats:
Our course formats include: text, audio, video, and PowerPoint with author narration. Each course will note the format on the course description page. Most courses include closed captioning.
Course handouts:
Most of our online courses provide a link to download the accompanying handout as a PDF file.
Group discounts:
Groups of 3 or more are eligible for a 20% discount on each registration on most of our online courses. To receive this discount, registrations need to be processed together via the "Group Rates" tab on the Online Course of your choice.
Computer requirements:
For our online courses to function best, we recommend that you update your computer to include the newest version of your Internet browser (Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, etc.) and newest version of your computer's operating system. Also a high-speed Internet connection is recommended (cable or DSL). Speakers or headphones will be required for many of our courses as many contain audio components.
Course Cancellation Policy:
A purchased online course can be exchanged, refunded, or transferred to another individual if contact is made with NSS (via phone or email) within 30 days of purchase and the course materials have not been viewed or downloaded.
Special Needs:
Please click here for any special needs requests, and we will do our best to accommodate them.
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