This course provides physical therapists and assistants with a comprehensive review of the 2026 APTA Code of Ethics and modern clinical challenges, including moral distress, artificial intelligence, and digital age boundaries. Participants will master the RIPS (Realm-Individual-Process-Situation) Model to systematically analyze and resolve complex ethical and legal dilemmas encountered in practice and education. By integrating current peer-reviewed literature with practical decision-making frameworks, clinicians will gain the essential tools to navigate the evolving moral landscape of the physical therapy profession.
On Demand
Course Type: Text/Transcript
CEUs/Hours Offered: FL/2.0; IACET/0.2; SC/2.0; TN/0.2
Learning Outcomes
- After this course, participants will be able to define ethics and distinguish it from law and professional standards, and identify core ethical principles and theories relevant to physical therapy practice.
- After this course, participants will be able to describe the nine ethical commitments, six foundational ethical principles, and enforceable standards of conduct outlined in the new APTA Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapy Profession (effective January 1, 2026).
- After this course, participants will be able to recognize and describe both established and emerging ethical and legal issues in physical therapy practice, including HIPAA, malpractice, licensure, supervision, disciplinary action, fraud and abuse, social media, artificial intelligence, moral distress, and care of aging populations.
- After this course, participants will be able to apply the RIPS Model of Ethical Decision-Making to analyze clinical ethical dilemmas through case study examples.
- After this course, participants will be able to identify proactive strategies and key resources to avoid ethical violations in practice
Course created on February 26, 2026
Agenda
| 0-15 Minutes | Learning outcomes, Introduction to ethics and physical therapy |
| 15-30 Minutes | Foundational Ethical Principles in Physical Therapy Practice and Ethical Theories: Frameworks for Moral Reasoning |
| 30-60 Minutes | The APTA Code of Ethics for the Physical Therapy Profession |
| 60-85 Minutes | Common Ethical and Legal Issues in Physical Therapy Practice and Emerging Ethical Issues in Physical Therapy Practice |
| 85-110 Minutes | RIPS Model and Case Studies |
| 110-120 Minutes | Resources and Conclusion |
Presented By
Calista Kelly
PT, DPT, ACEEAA, Cert. MDT
Senior Strategic Content Developer
Calista holds a master’s degree in physical therapy from St. Ambrose University and a doctorate degree (DPT) from the University of Mississippi. She obtained a credentialing certificate from the McKenzie Institute in 2011 and the CEEAA credential in 2014 from the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy, an affiliate of the American Physical Therapy Association. In 2019, she completed the requirements for the Advanced Credentialed Exercise Expert for Aging Adults (ACEEAA) through the Academy of Geriatric Physical Therapy. Calista has been licensed as a physical therapist since 2001 and has worked as a clinician in a variety of settings, including ICU, outpatient orthopedics/sports medicine, neuro, SNF/LTC, LTACH, wound care, home health, and pediatrics. Her practice interests are spine care, jurisprudence, orthopedics, acute care, wound care, and temporomandibular disorders.
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Financial: Calista Kelly is employed by Continued.com.
Non-Financial: Calista Kelly has no non-financial disclosures.
Sponsor Disclosure: This Course is presented by PhysicalTherapy.com, a Continued site.
Content Disclosure: This learning event does not focus exclusively on any specific product or service.
Course participation information
To ensure you are ready to participate, please complete our short Test Drive to prepare your computer to view the course.
NOTE: Full attendance for all courses is mandatory. For self-study courses, this includes reading the full text, listening to the full audio recording, or watching the complete video, as appropriate for the format of the course.
Passing an online exam and completing a course evaluation will be required to earn continuing education credit.
Live Webinars allow presenter and participant interaction. The exam and course evaluation for these courses must be completed within 7 days of the event.
On-demand courses include texts, video and audio recordings of live webinars, and multimedia formats. The exam and course evaluation for on-demand courses must be completed within 30 days of course registration.
To participate in the course, complete the exam and course evaluation, and earn continuing education credit, you must be a PhysicalTherapy.com member. Participants must complete the entire course; partial credit is not allowed.
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CE Broker
PhysicalTherapy.com is approved to report to CE Broker for PTs and PTAs licensed in the states of AR, AZ, FL, GA, KS, MI, MS, ND, NV, OK, SC and TN, and ATs licensed in the states of AZ, KS, LA, MI, TN, and WI. CE Provider #: 50-14089. If you are a PT/PTA or AT in one of these states, CE Broker may be of interest to you.
International Association for Continuing Education and Training
continued, LLC, DBA PhysicalTherapy.com, is accredited by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET). continued complies with the ANSI/IACET Standard, which is recognized internationally as a standard of excellence in instructional practices. As a result of this accreditation, continued is authorized to issue the IACET CEU. continued, LLC, is authorized by IACET to offer 0.20 CEUs for this program.
Tennessee Physical Therapy Association
This course is offered for 0.20 contact hours by the Tennessee Physical Therapy Association.
We recognize that state CE requirements are constantly changing. If you have any questions regarding our courses and your state requirements, please contact us at 866-782-6258 or contact Customer Service.