Course: HHP 475E: Legal and Ethical Issues in the Exercise Professions
Instructor: Charles Palmer, Ed. D.
Department: Health and Human Performance
Email: Charles.palmer@umontana.edu
Phone: (406) 243-4826
1. The ethics component will be introductory and foundational not just to the concerns of a
particular discipline, but to the conduct of life as an ethical and engaged citizen of local
and global communities.
With the new general education requirements at the University of Montana, only one course is
required in the Group VIII Ethics and Human Values category for students to graduate. Based
upon sampling of the students that I have had in HHP 475E the past six plus years, for the vast
majority of them HHP 475E will be the only ethics course they take. Interestingly, as noted in
the mission statement of UM:
The University of Montana-Missoula pursues academic excellence as demonstrated by the
quality of curriculum and instruction, student performance, and faculty professional
accomplishments. The University accomplishes this mission, in part, by providing unique
educational experiences through the integration of the liberal arts, graduate study, and
professional training with international and interdisciplinary emphases. The University also
educates competent and humane professionals and informed, ethical, and engaged citizens of
local and global communities; and provides basic and applied research, technology transfer,
cultural outreach, and service benefiting the local community, region, State, nation and the
world.
Despite only being required to take one ethics course, the UM has declared that, among other
skills and attributes, our graduates will be, “…ethical, (bold and italics added by me) and
engaged citizens of local and global communities.” Likewise, the Health and Human
Performance Department, of which I am a member, has declared in its mission statement:
“In pursuit of our vision, HHP prepares quality graduates to be ethical and competent
entry level professionals in health and human performance related occupations or
candidates for advanced study in related disciplines. The department emphasizes
mental, social, spiritual, and physical dimensions of health to promote healthy lifestyle
choices and enhanced quality of life”.
In my opinion, this places a tremendous duty upon the ethics designated courses on the UM
campus and the people, like myself, who teach them. I take this responsibility very seriously.
Even though we as an institution are declaring that our graduates will be ethical individuals when
they leave our campus, our opportunities to influence their ethical development in the classroom
are quite limited.
While HHP 475E is required of all students majoring in HHP, it is open and available to be
taken by any student due to its general education Ethics designation. While I utilize examples
mostly from within the fields of the health and exercise professions to illustrate key points, I
teach the course in such a way that the concepts are generalizable across all disciplines. For
example, we discuss at length the topics of lying and cheating. To highlight this, I use the
example of George O’Leary, who was caught lying on the resume’ he submitted to the
University of Notre Dame when applying for the head football coaching position. Although
being awarded the job, once the inaccuracies on his resume’ were discovered, he was forced to
resign. Since most, if not all, students will at some point be working on their own vitaes or
resumes, the ethics of being honest and truthful on these documents is examined.
2. The course proposals have to provide brief and explicit answers to the following
questions:
a. What specific tradition or traditions of ethical thought does this course focus on?
This course focuses upon the Western ethical traditions of Virtue ethics, Utilitarian ethics, and
Deontological ethics.
b. If the course focuses on a professional practice, what is the particular tradition of
ethical thought within which the professional practice is placed.
Students who are majoring in HHP are pursuing a range of different potential occupational
outcomes: education, medical fields, the health and fitness industry, athletic training,
community/corporate wellness, and countless others. Likewise, non-HHP majors who enroll in
HHP 475E represent a cross-section of the UM campus as a whole. I see students from a wide
variety of departments and disciplines. Therefore, I do not focus on any one specific
professional practice. Since there is such a high level of departmental diversity within my
students, I encourage and ask them to be familiar with the ethical codes of conduct for their
respective future occupations (e.g.,
www.apta.org/uploadedFiles/APTAorg/About_Us/Policies/HOD/Ethics/CodeofEthics.pdf,
www.aahperd.org/naspe/about/leaders/loader.cfm?csModule=security/getfile&pageid=119816,
www.sbuniv.edu/cosm/at/NATACod.pdf)
c. What are the basic ethical topics or basic concepts of this tradition or these traditions?
As mentioned previously, in HHP 475E we investigate the Western ethical traditions of
Virtue ethics, Utilitarian ethics, and Deontological ethics throughout the course. For example,
Utilitarian ethics operates under the general premise of the greatest good for the greatest number.
In other words, of the many different potential ethical courses of action available to a person,
which of those courses will bring about the most benefit for the most people? To demonstrate
this concept, we examine www.Strong4life.org, which is a program sponsored by Children’s
Healthcare of Atlanta. Through a graphic video campaign, Strong4life stigmatizes and shames
overweight and obese children and their parents to call attention to the issue of childhood obesity
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1t_H_DBHmGQ&playnext=1&list=PL3B99758F38961860
&feature=results_main). Under Utilitarianism, the ethical question then becomes, Is it okay to
cause harm to the few with the hope that it benefits the many?
With Virtue ethics, the class discusses the virtues of temperance, prudence, fortitude, and
justice, and how they apply to one’s daily functioning. We focus particular attention upon
Aristotle’s notion of the Golden Mean, which represents the desirable middle ground between
excess and deficit. The Golden Mean can be a useful tool when examining one’s own behaviors
or the behavior of others. This concept comes into the forefront when exploring such topics as
work/life balance, and the usage of performance-enhancing substances, to name just two.
For Deontological ethics, motives move to the forefront, as opposed to consequences.
Deontology is centered upon the principle that there are some moral duties that are applicable at
all times and in all places. While setting certain inviolable duties can be an effective strategy for
ethical behavior, it is not without its own set of challenges. To exhibit this, we investigate
physician-assisted suicide. Although doctors perform their roles under the premise of “First, do
no harm”, when it comes to working with patients who have terminal illnesses, this duty comes
in to conflict when a healthcare provider must decide what he or she believes is best for a
terminally ill person.
d. What are the forms of reasoning in the particular tradition or traditions?
With Utilitarian ethics, the form of reasoning is consequentialist or teleological in nature. Put
another way, Utilitarianism becomes an exercise in evaluating the means to the end of the best
possible society. The end state that is strived for, as mentioned previously, turns out to be the
greatest good for the greatest number of people. Borrowing a concept from the business world
(which is effective because HHP 475E is taken by a sizeable number of business students), we
discuss cost-benefit analyses, and their utility in helping to choose potential ethical courses of
action. With this model, one simply adds up the benefits of each option, and then divides that
number by the costs. The course of action with the highest ratio of benefits to costs would be the
option chosen. Again though, this form of reasoning is not without its own drawbacks. In class,
we discuss the example of those with mobility impairments and physical challenges. If society
simply did what was the greatest good for the greatest number, money, resources, and time might
not be spent putting in handicapped parking spots, wheelchair ramps, or elevators.
The form of reasoning for Virtue ethics is ontological. Thus, it is based upon virtues or
character traits as opposed to goals or rules. The highest moral outcome of existence is for
people to become what they were meant to be, to acquire those virtues which will lead to
professional ethical conduct. By having an understanding of what occupation they want to
pursue, students can begin to examine and embrace those particular virtues that align more
closely with that profession. Someone wanting to work in the fitness industry might focus upon
fortitude, a person heading to the medical field might identify with prudence, or a future
community health practitioner could seek temperance. However, a potential challenge with this
form of reasoning is that a person’s specific cultural upbringing has tremendous influence upon
the virtues that one might hold, and these could conflict with those virtues that are important for
a chosen occupation.
Lastly, Deontological ethics center upon reasoning from rule. In this case, ethical decisions
become a matter of setting specific imperatives, and then doing one’s best to hold true to these
established imperatives. The merits of such an approach are clear: by setting plain “rules of
engagement”, it often times makes it easier to decide upon the best course of action. Again, this
approach might present certain ambiguities. For example, since many of our graduates will at
some point work with people, it might make sense to set an imperative that states, “I will always
place the needs of my client/patient/subject/student first.” Such an approach might lead to an
ethical dilemma in an instance when one’s own issues, such as personal emotional or physical
well-being, supersede that of the people you serve.
e. How is a rigorous analysis of the basic concepts and forms of reasoning provided?
Rigorous analysis of these basic ethical concepts and forms of reasoning will occur in
multiple ways. Text books used for HHP 475E help to build each student’s foundational
knowledge of these traditions of ethical thought: “The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of
Moral” by Kant, “Utilitarianism” by Mill, and “Nicomachean Ethics” by Aristotle. Additionally,
two books pertaining to actual climbing expeditions on Mount Everest (“Into Thin Air” by
Krakauer, “High Crimes” by Kodas) provide an opportunity to apply these basic concepts as we
examine the behaviors and choices of those individuals involved in these accounts. Classroom
discussions revolve around real-life ethical issues, such as the topic of sexual assaults here on the
University of Montana campus, and how Virtue ethics, Deontological ethics, and Utilitarianism
ethics can be applied to this subject. “Laboratory” assignments, of which there are eleven over
the course of the semester, investigate such topics as the ethics of television shows like “The
Biggest Loser”, the ethics involved with concussions (e. g. ImPACT testing), and the ethics of
online physical education, to name just a few. An opinion-editorial paper assignment asks
students to examine a topic of their choice through the lens of ethics, using one or more of these
traditions. A group presentation that requires students to produce their own video on an ethical
topic of their choice also asks them to examine the topic through use of at least one of the
traditions. Lastly, quizzes and tests throughout the semester check and reinforce their
understanding of said traditions, and their ability to apply them to novel situations.