Ethics: Ethical Considerations in Student Supervision

Student supervision/preceptorship involves clinical teaching—assisting the student in functioning with increasing accuracy, proficiency, and independence. Just as other clinical skills have to be learned, applying professional ethics is a learned skill. Ethics education often occurs as dilemmas and conflicts arise, and ethical constructs are solidified when supervisors/preceptors choose to act ethically. Sometimes, students will bring ethical conflicts to their supervisor’s attention. Alternatively, supervisors may be the one to shed light on the ethical implications of a problem. In either case, the student will gain the most from working through the issues with the preceptor/supervisor. As Rassi and McElroy (1992) noted, clinical teaching is largely the process of developing student skills for self-assessment and problem solving.