Student Ethics Essay Award Recipients

The Student Ethics Essay Award (SEEA) program is conducted as part of ASHA's efforts to create awareness of the importance of ethical decision making as individuals prepare to start careers in audiology, speech-language pathology, or speech, language, and hearing sciences. Recipients of the SEEA are listed below, and essay titles are available to read for the last three years.

2019 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Ethical Use of Social Media

Foundational to professional and ethical conduct is the commitment to hold the welfare of clients paramount. The utilization of social media has become widespread and has changed the way individuals, businesses, and organizations communicate; however, inappropriate use of social media in the professions can lead to ethical violations. Adherence to professional obligations and standards is essential to eliminate the chance of an ethical violation related to misuse of social media and social networking.

In your essay, present an ethical dilemma or challenge that may be faced by a clinician or researcher related to the misuse of social media and its numerous platforms. Then, using ethics resources and the ASHA Code of Ethics (2016), identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated, and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Finally, discuss what action(s) you would take to resolve this dilemma.

1st Place

Erika Rose Baldwin

University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee
Essay Title: The Ethics of Social Media Advocacy

2nd Place

Cameron Coppala

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Essay Title: Social Media: Blending the Professional with the Personal

3rd Place

Nathaniel J. Smith

Truman State University
Essay Title: Be a Friend: Face Up to Ethical Misuse of Social Media

2018 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Disclosure, Misrepresentation, and Conflict of interest

Foundational to professional and ethical conduct is the commitment to be honest, accurate, and complete when providing information to others (e.g., clients, research participants, families, the public, employers, regulating agencies). Many clinical, research, and teaching scenarios can potentially foster a natural tension between professional obligation and personal preference/gain. Misrepresentation by errors of both omission and commission, as well as by conflicts of interest, can create ethical violations. Adherence to professional obligations and standards is essential to eliminate the chance of an ethical violation related to disclosure, misrepresentation, and conflict of interest.

In your essay, present an ethical dilemma or challenge that may be faced by a clinician or researcher related to disclosure, misrepresentation, and/or conflict of interest. Then, using ethics resources and the ASHA Code of Ethics (2016), identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated, and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Finally, discuss what action(s) you would take to resolve this dilemma.

1st Place

Kaley Ervin

Texas State University
Essay Title: Overstatement of Qualifications: Misrepresentation in Clinical Practice

2nd Place

Cara Richman

Western Kentucky University
Essay Title: On Defrost, Disclosure, and Professional Drive

3rd Place

Rivka Moller

Nova Southeastern University
Essay Title: Sound Advice: Conflict of Interest in Audiological Practice

2017 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Independent and Evidence-Based Clinical Judgment

From the start of your professional career in audiology or speech-language pathology, you will be committed to providing high-quality services to clients/patients. In some employment settings, you may receive direction from others regarding clinical strategies and services that may conflict with your own professional judgment. This can be a particularly confusing situation because it can raise doubt and ethical concerns about the actual services to be provided.

In your essay, present an ethical dilemma or challenge that may be faced by a clinician in the area of independent and evidence-based clinical judgment. Then, using ethics resources and the ASHA Code of Ethics, identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated, and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Finally, discuss what action(s) you would take to resolve this dilemma.

1st Place

Malayna Bailey

Marshall University
Essay Title: Prognostic Statements, Client Success, and Clinical Caution

1st Place

Ashley Peltier

Northeastern University
Essay Title: Ethical Misconduct in Positions of Power: Maintaining Personal Integrity and Patient as Priority

3rd Place

Sarah Kennemer

LSU Health Sciences Center – Shreveport
Essay Title: Bouc Émissaire

2016 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Client Abandonment

During your professional career in audiology or speech-language pathology, changes in employment may occur, thereby ending clinical relationships with those you serve. Inappropriate transition of services could potentially compromise the welfare of persons served. In those situations, it is imperative to ensure continuity of care; to do otherwise may be considered client abandonment.

In your essay, present an ethical dilemma or challenge that may be faced by a clinician in the area of client abandonment. Then, using ethics resources and the ASHA Code of Ethics, identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Finally, suggest how the situation could be handled for a proper resolution and what could have been done differently to minimize the likelihood that the ethical dilemma would have occurred at all.

1st Place

Shannon Goodwin

Texas State University
Essay Title: Unintentional Client Abandonment: How Personal Decisions Impact Others

2nd Place

Lacy Hefley

Portland State University
Essay Title: Lose-Lose: When Intra-Professional Conflict Harms the Client

3rd Place

Julia Burroughs

University of Cincinnati
Essay Title: Continuous Care in an Ever-Changing Field: Client Abandonment

2015 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Confidentiality

It is critical that speech-language pathologists and audiologists maintain confidentiality when communicating with others about the status of research, supervision, or clinical services (e.g., sharing details of patient history, communicating the results from diagnostic evaluations, reporting progress in treatment, maintaining and distributing records and documentation for the purposes of patient care or research). Student clinicians may encounter challenges regarding confidentiality during their clinical practice and research endeavors. Such challenges require the application of ethical decision-making skills.

In your essay, present an ethical dilemma or challenge that may be faced by a student clinician in the area of confidentiality. Then, using ethics resources and the ASHA Code of Ethics (2010r), identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Finally, suggest how the situation could be handled for a proper resolution and what could have been done differently to minimize the likelihood that the ethical dilemma would have occurred at all.

1st Place

Sara Pool

George Washington University, Washington, DC
Essay Title: Privacy, Please: Confidentiality and Transgender Identities

2nd Place

Kelly Meehan Doig

Nova Southeastern University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Essay Title: Confidentiality in the Social Media Age

3rd Place

Brandon Young

University of North Texas, Denton, Texas
Essay Title: A Breach of Confidentiality: The Supervisee’s Role in Ethical Dilemmas

2014 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Supervision

Despite what appears to be a successful graduate training experience in audiology or speech-language pathology, issues with ethical implications may arise during the supervisory relationship in your clinical education. Select one potential conflict from the situations below. Using the ASHA Code of Ethics, identify one or more Principles and the corresponding Rule(s) that you believe have been violated and provide a rationale for your choice(s). Next, describe your decision-making process to resolve the ethical dilemma.

Audiology

• During your 4th-year clinical placement, you discover that your immediate supervisor's ASHA certification is not current. You understand that the time spent acquiring knowledge and skills in this clinical experience will not be accepted toward completion of your ASHA certification requirements. When you inquire about this issue, your supervisor says, "Don't worry. I'll have someone with certification sign."
• During your clinical education program, you believe that your immediate supervisor fails to provide you with adequate supervision to meet your and your client's needs; you believe, therefore, that the accuracy of the audiology services is compromised.

Speech-Language Pathology

• During your clinical fellowship, you discover that your immediate supervisor's ASHA certification is not current. You understand that the time spent acquiring knowledge and skills in this clinical experience will not be accepted toward completion of your ASHA certification requirements. When you inquire about this issue, your supervisor says, "Don't worry. I'll have someone with certification sign."
• During your clinical education program, you believe that your immediate supervisor fails to provide you with adequate supervision to meet your and your client's needs; you believe, therefore, that the quality of services you provide is compromised.

1st Place

Christine R. Delfino

Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Essay Title: Ethical Practice: Self Advocacy as Client Advocacy

2nd Place

Kelsey Roberts

Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas
Essay Title: Ethics: A Challenge, A Necessity

3rd Place

Elizabeth Stepansky

University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Essay Title: Thoughts on Trust & Responsibility: Choosing to Act Ethically in the Absence of Compelling Consequences

2013 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Workplace Dilemmas

Persons in our profession are as likely as anyone else to experience workplace dilemmas that might compromise their professional ethics. The term workplace dilemma may apply in situations where power abuse between employer and employee exists when the employee is asked by the employer to perform tasks beyond his or her educational training and experience, or when the workload expectation cannot be completed within the contract day. It may also include a situation when the employee is asked by the employer to complete documentation that he or she knows is inappropriate. Students are asked to write an essay in which they consider the ethical issues raised by the problem of workplace dilemmas.

1st Place

Karen Cuthbertson
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Essay Title: Scope of Practice Workplace Dilemma: Navigating Difficult Terrain Gracefully

2nd Place

Rachael Bauleke
Minnesota State University–Mankato, Mankato, Minnesota
Essay Title: Dilemmas in the Workplace: A Guide to Ethical Decision Making

3rd Place

Margaret Searcy
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Essay Title: Ethical Dilemmas in the Workplace: Can We Determine What is Most Ethical?

2012 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Persons in our professions are as likely as anyone else to suffer from mental illnesses of varying degrees of severity or to suffer from various forms of addiction and substance abuse. The term "impaired practitioner" is widely used to refer to professionals when such illnesses and addictions adversely affect their ability to carry out their responsibilities. Write an essay in which you consider the ethical issues raised by the problem of impaired professionals.

1st Place

Kendra Schmitt
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Essay Title: Impaired Practitioners: A Collective Call for Action

2nd Place

Alison Brady
University of Minnesota–Twin Cities, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Essay Title: Compassion and the Impaired Practitioner: Considerations for Prevention, Judgment, and Action in Ethics Violation Cases

3rd Place

Emily Norman
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
Essay Title: The Role of the Individual and National Association in the Prevention of Compromised Patient Care Due to Impaired Practitioners

2011 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Describe an ethical dilemma that might arise for a student or a supervisor in a clinical setting, addressing various aspects of the dilemma such as the pressures that might push the involved professionals toward unethical behavior; how a student would know whether client well-being is being put at risk and whether clinical supervision is adequate; how students should address a situation in which they have doubts about the ethical acceptability of their supervisor's conduct; and how an ethically acceptable outcome might be achieved.

1st Place

Monique King
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Essay Title: A Domino Effect of Unethical Decisions

2nd Place

Ambily Abraham
Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey
Essay Title: Clinical Clash of Cultures

3rd Place

Emily Riddle
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Essay Title: Providing Effective Treatment in the Face of Power Differential: A Clinical Situation

2010 SEEA Recipients

Topic: Within the context of the ASHA Code of Ethics, how has the emergence of technology impacted the issues of confidentiality, privacy, and security of individuals' records and protected health information?

1st Place

Keith Hosokawa
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Essay Title: The False Security of Technology and Its Impact on Protecting Client Confidentiality

2nd Place

Amelia S. Rachal
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
Essay Title: Safety in Numbers: Technology's Impact on Privacy, Confidentiality, and Security

3rd Place

Suzannah Marie Allen
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Essay Title: Implications for Confidentiality In an Increasingly Technological World

2009 SEEA Recipients

Topic: The meaning and importance of Principle IV of ASHA's Code of Ethics (2003).

1st Place

Megan Thurber
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
Essay Title: The Importance of Collaboration and Character: Principle of Ethics IV

2nd Place

Jennifer Wallace Knapp
Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, North Carolina
Essay Title: Principle IV

3rd Place

Victoria Hatzelis
Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York
Essay Title: Overcoming Professional Challenges in the Field of Speech-Language Pathology: A Lifelong Commitment

2008 SEEA Recipients

Topic: The meaning and importance of Principle III of ASHA's Code of Ethics (2003).

1st Place

Heather S. Petrusa
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Essay Title: A Framework for Care That Encompasses Our Professional Characteristics

2nd Place

Kimberly S. Judlin
Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, Shreveport, Louisiana
Essay Title: Principles of Ethics III

3rd Place

Melinda J. Simon
Longwood University, Farmville, Virginia
Essay Title: Professional Integrity of Student Clinicians

2007 SEEA Recipients

Topic: The meaning and importance of Principle II of ASHA's Code of Ethics (2003).

1st Place

Carolyn Stephenson Gosse
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
Essay Title: Developing Professional Competence During the Clinical Fellowship

2nd Place

Sarenne Sutton
Teachers College-Columbia University, New York, New York
Essay Title: Principle of Ethics II

3rd Place

Elissa M. Larkin
Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona
Essay Title: The Ethic of Competence

2006 SEEA Recipients

Topic: The meaning and importance of Principle I of ASHA's Code of Ethics (2003).

1st Place

Victoria Carlson-Casaregola
Saint Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri
Essay Title: Doing Well by Others: Thoughts on Idealism and the ASHA Code of Ethics in Practice

2nd Place

Laura Guengerich
Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois
Essay Title: ASHA's Principle of Ethics I in Action

3rd Place

Sarah Reid
University of North Carolina–Greensboro, Greensboro, North Carolina
Essay Title: Ethics: Holding the Person Paramount