2.0 Ethics Case 3

Problem-solving step Your response Response example
Identify the problem

Yvonne failed to check on fieldwork hours log with her trainees.

A mistake was made and it is too late to make-up the supervision hours that were never delivered.
Relevant ethical standard(s)

Maintaining supervision documentation

1.01 Being Truthful
4.01 Compliance with Supervision Requirements
4.06 Providing Supervision and Training
Consider dimensions of the problem

She did not ensure that hours were documented correctly

The opportunity to provide the supervision hours has passed. Yvonne wants to correct the mistake but cannot. It was the trainee’s mistake, but Yvonne should have been checking the hours log.
They are both responsible, but ultimately it is Yvonne who signs off on the hours.
The monthly supervision verification forms are still valid, but the additional hours worked by the trainee cannot be counted because he did not receive supervision for them.
Consider courses of action & potential consequences

Review the hours with the trainee to fix the hours to where they need to be at

Yvonne can tell the trainee that there is nothing she can do.
She might also help the trainee make-up the hours in some way.
Another option is to provide the supervision now for the hours that he worked in previous months, though this option violates the Fieldwork Requirements protocol for delivering supervision hours.
Select a course of action

above

Yvonne decides that these hours cannot be made-up in an ethical manner. She proposes a plan where she finds the trainee an additional case assignment so he can work some extra hours and still finish supervision on time with his peers.
Implement and evaluate course of action Yvonne still feels uneasy about her mistake but is relieved to have identified a solution that is ethically sound.