Abstract
In this commentary, I will address specific issues raised by the article within the context of the following broader concerns in physical therapy ethics raised by this important contribution by Greenfield and Jensen: the importance of expanding scholarship in physical therapy ethics, the moral import of disability, evaluating the value of the dominant Western principlist model of ethics for physical therapy, and hearing the patient's voice through dialogue and partnership. The Moral Import of Disability and Rehabilitation The authors also point the way toward a type of ethics scholarship that currently is under-represented in the physical therapy literature: phenomenological analysis of the lived experiences of patients and clients. Without these bonds, health care personnel are no longer professionals but only employees of an impersonal health care system.13(p41) It is interesting to note that Martone's comments are consistent with Delany's qualitative grounded theory study of informed consent among physical therapists in Australia.14 Delany found that, among physical therapists, informed consent was interpreted as providing explanations rather than offering choices.