The Ethical Code of Conduct for Physiotherapists—An Axiological Analysis

Abstract

The goal of the article is an axiological analysis of the Ethical Code of Conduct for Physiotherapists. The basic ethical values constituting the axiological basis of physiotherapy are care, professionalism, responsibility, fairness, professional integrity, respect for a patient/client’s dignity and autonomy. Those values have been selected from the theory and practice of physiotherapy, but also from socio-cultural conditions influencing the relations and interdependencies between physiotherapists and other professional groups or society as a whole. Those values can exist as qualities of a subject (a physiotherapist) or as functions realised by them (acting for the welfare of a patient/client, society, profession). Some of the analysed values have been directly enumerated in the Ethical Code of Conduct for Physiotherapists, while others must be deduced from the rules included in this document. The analysed values should be internalised by the physiotherapists during their training and professional practice.