Ethical deliberation: a foundation for evidence-based practice

Infusing evidence-based practice (EBP) into the clinical setting implies that professionals use evidence that is relevant and credible, maintain their pursuit of best current knowledge, respect their clients' preferences and values, and keep these clients and their families appropriately informed about their treatment options. Thus, rational and judicious EBP must be guided by speech-language pathologists' or audiologists' ethical principles of beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and autonomy. In this article, we will affirm the centrality of ethical reasoning in EBP by describing what it means to be a professional as reflected in our Code of Ethics, reviewing the principles of ethics that underlie clinical decision making, and demonstrating how an ethical framework can and should provide the context in which EBP is conducted.