Warren Lattimore is the lead equity, diversity, and inclusion facilitator and the assistant director of Student Affairs for the Duke Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD). As the newest member of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) Ethics Commission, he's making an impact beyond the OTD program.
The commission is tasked with creating the Occupational Therapy Code of Ethics and Ethics Standards, which will apply to occupational therapy personnel at all levels and in various professional and societal roles.
“We are revising the code, something the Ethics Commission does every five years. The last revision was in 2020,” Warren said. “Our goal is to make sure the code reflects the values and principles of AOTA while being practical for OT practitioners in the field.”
The revision will focus on the language in the Standards of Conduct to ensure it reflects the profession's needs and promotes inclusive and equitable guidelines. Warren said the commission has received feedback from an AOTA-wide survey and has tried to incorporate it into the revisions. He says the most challenging aspect of the work involves making consequential decisions regarding code enforcement that impact fellow AOTA members.
“Thankfully, the Ethics Commission approaches their work with the same civil discourse and professionalism it seeks to uphold throughout the occupational therapy community.”
In addition to the code, the Ethics Commission meets regularly to review cases brought before it and to provide advisory opinions on the interpretation and application of the code and ethical trends.
“I find profound satisfaction in bridging my roles to enhance the Code of Ethics,” Warren said. “My dual perspective allows me to advocate for guidelines that serve both practicing clinicians and the next generation of occupational therapy students. I’m excited to share the final product with my OTD students.”