Abstract:

Background:
Concept maps are graphic tools created to organize and represent the knowledge, excellent instruments for University students in order to learn different subjects. The purpose of this abstract is to create concept maps to study professional ethics in the subject "Clinical Stays III" (Physical Therapy Degree) and to present them at an on-line platform, in order to promote the interest and the knowledge of students.

Methods:
To carry out this activity, 5 concept maps were designed, created and finally presented at the on-line platform Virtual Classroom, available at any time for students, and therefore offering the possibility of asynchronous work. This is a non-presential issue where learning is performed with the use of the Internet. Five concept maps were designed, related with the theoretical blocks of the subject Clinical Stays III, using the software CMapTools. All maps were published on the on-line platform “Virtual Classroom”, with concrete temporization. Students had to read them and to study them, and were required to use the mail of the teacher to solve any question they needed.

Results:
This abstract presents the concept developed for the subject Clinical Stays III, regarding the study of professional ethics in Physical Therapy. The maps we present include different types of elements: concepts, relationships between concepts, words on the line, link words, tags, propositions, etc. Techers developed the maps including these issues: Introduction to the professional ethics and basic concepts; Professional ethics and importance of professional ethics in Physiotherapy; Professional ethics principles; Ethical and deontological code in Physiotherapy; Ethical situations and legal aspects in Physiotherapy; Ethical decissions in Physiotherapy. We offered the possibility of downloading the on-line teaching materials for students. Therefore, this is an easy way of being able to study all material in an asynchronous way. We expect that techniques and skills of students will improve due to the asynchronous use of these on-line resources, as well as a higher interest should be reached.

Conclusions:
The concept maps we created are available on-line and seem to be a suitable option for students, in order to achieve learning objectives and promote the interest and the knowledge of students regarding the study of professional ethics in Clinical Stays III in Physical Therapy.

References:
[1] Novak, J. D. (1991). Clarify with concept maps. The Science Teacher, 58(7):45-49.
[2] Gracia, D. (2001). La deliberación moral: el método de la ética clínica. Medicina Clínica, 117,18-23.
[3] Hortal, A. (2002). Ética general de las profesiones. Bilbao: Desclée de Brower.Kornblau y Starling, 2000
[4] Lucas, R. (2003). Bioética para todos. México, DF: Trillas.
[5] Rest, J., Narvaez, D., Bebeau, M ., Thoma, S. (1999). Postconventional Moral Thinking: A Neo-Kholbergian Approach. Mahwah: Lawrence Eribaurn Associates.
[6] Swisher, L. (2002). A retrospective analysis of ethics knowledge in Physical Therapy. Physical Therapy, 2 (82), 692-706.

Keywords:

Concept maps, professional ethics, physiotherapy.