Ethics and Policy for Interprofessional Scopes of Practice: Preparing Bariatric Care Teams

Abstract

Health reform is driving many change factors in both the education and practice of healthcare professionals. Teams and collaboration are key words put forth by legislators and by accrediting bodies. There are barriers to the actualization of these recommendations in the form of health-professional scopes of practice, which vary in many instances from state to state. Further, health professionals are taught about their specific scope of practice and seldom about those of others. The lack of understanding regarding interprofessional scopes of practice creates ethical issues for collaborative practice in bariatric team care. Bariatric team composition is clearly defined by the National Institutes of Health and others, a recognition that the patient population of care has complex health needs. The aim of this paper is to discuss the driving policy forces that advocate for interprofessional care and to exam the ethical issues that emerge for bariatric team practice.