Ethical dilemma – Confidentiality
To begin, social work is a profession concerned with helping individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social workers engage themselves in solving problems for individuals or relationships they may have in order to have a better lifestyle. Social workers work in various areas/institutions such as children’s aid agencies, school boards, hospitals and many more.These workers perform different duties depending on their workplace. Social work has four key concepts which include, social change, problem solving, person-in-the-environment and empowerment. These elements help the social workers find a conclusion with who they are working with. Just like any other work environment, there are policies in which they must follow. The CASW code of ethics. (Canadian Association of Social Workers). In some cases, social workers tend to ‘bend’ the code in order to make the right decision based on their experiences, beliefs and values. When they are stuck in a situation where they don’t quite know what to do, this is called an ethical dilemma.
Leah Turner is a 17-year-old girl who has recently lost her mother due to cancer at Toronto General Hospital this past January. The whole family was devasted by this tragedy and had troubles coping through the pain. During this time, Leah was in University full-time, four hours away from her father and younger sister. It was hard for her to concentrate on
Social work is a profession which has the objective to improve the quality of life of other individuals. The NASW code of ethics is used as a guideline for social workers and the interaction they have with their clients. In addition, within the code of ethics, there are six values, which include service, social justice, dignity and worth of a person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. Therefore, going into the social work field it is important to understand that your
They understand the value in ethical and professional behavior and the impact it has on their work. Social workers must maintain the highest form of ethical practice because of their intense work in the community. Social workers use NASW Code of Ethics to help them make the most ethical decision because they often hold a lot of weight. Social workers also know how to differentiate their personal beliefs even when in difficult situations. They do not mix their values as a social worker with their values as a person and therefore do not let their beliefs affect their work. Social workers understand the importance of maintaining professional behavior because it can affect their
Social workers face complex ethical issues in every aspect of their profession. This work is often ethically challenging because it involves direct contact and interaction with individuals who are vulnerable. There are many factors that influence our decision making especially when working with at risk youths, we often face challenges in wanting to take on certain roles to protect our clients. These roles often conflict with our professional obligations. When our personal and professional values conflicts, our decisions may affect the individual, family, group, community and the organization.
The very nature of social work and the individuals and groups involved with the service, indicates that social workers should, similarly to the definitions, have the same goal of helping, supporting and empowering the socially excluded at the heart of their practice. However, professional ethics and values are fundamental to professionals from their training through to practice, which has an enormous influence on the role, and how the shared goals are achieved (Doel, 2012). To practice ethically and by the social work values however, is not always as straightforward as one may
Social workers do the best they can to use their knowledge and other knowledge to best serve the client. The social worker displays different types of ethical principles when it comes to assisting clients and working with policies.
There is a great necessity for the code of ethics in social welfare. The first code of ethics was “adopted in 1960” and was a single page (NASW,1998, para. 8). The last major adoption was in 1996, which was similar to what we see today, in the 2008 edition. In this changing profession it is absolutely necessary for a social worker to have something to reference to when there is an ethical dilemma, because they will transpire from time to time (NASW, 1998).
This essay will address the ethical dilemmas faced by social workers and how they address these ethical dilemmas when working with service users and carers. It will be illustrated that codes of practice and codes of ethics are of paramount importance when dealing with these dilemmas as they are ones that guide social workers as to how they should try and solve these dilemmas.
Generally, social work is affiliated with the younger population or topics of abuse and neglect in the home. While this can be a vital part of the job description, social work is a diversified field with many other career opportunities. A social worker’s ethical job responsibilities are outlined in NASW Code of Ethics (1999). The following sections will review these responsibilities in relation to aging populations and a social workers practice.
The mission of social work is to empower and enhance the quality of life by helping all people to meet the basic human needs, especially with those who are vulnerable, oppressed, and living in poverty. The mission of social work is deep rooted in a set of core values that have acted as the foundation for social work. The core social work values are service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (NASW Code of Ethics). As social workers, we must apply the core values in our everyday profession and practice. The NASW Code of Ethics provides clear understanding of principles and values social workers should hold and exemplify. Our primary goal as social workers is to help those
Social worker professions are guided by the professional body of Australia Association of Social Work code of ethics and practice standards (AASW, 2010). Thus, social workers should first have an understanding of their ethical code for practice when entering into a organisation. As the AASW (2010) states “social worker will uphold the ethical values and responsibilities of this code, even though employers’ policies or official may not be compatible with its provisions (AASW, 2010, p.33). Social worker should analysis organisation policies and procedures as these are the rules and responsibilities which the workers must compile too (McDonald, Craik, Hawkins & William, 2012) In addition, a social worker should must make sure the policy and polices compatible with the AASW code of ethics, as previous stated
Ethical confidentiality in healthcare in essence is to provide guidance to do what is right. The purpose is to ensure to meet ethical standards and to comply with laws and
Providing social services can sometimes be a difficult task, with uncertainties and challenges. The codes of ethics are a set of core values for social work professionals. It is important for a social work professional to understand the ethics of social work to make ethical decisions. In this, a social worker must provide quality unbiased service. Professional social
Social work recognizes human relationships and Social workers are expected to be trustworthy. With understanding the above topics and how confidentiality and privacy work we can have the best interest in mind and be able to work in a productive way that ensures we follow the guidelines and conduct our studies in a successful, appropriate, and respectful way. It is extremely important to protect the rights of human subjects because we are building a report in order to provide what’s best and safe for the client. We can use the above information to know when research is accurate and whether or not it is ethical to conduct the research we want to. We can use these skills to avoid harming any individuals and to carry research in a professional
-Private conduct: social workers must follow the current guidelines based on their state/country and not permit their private conduct interfere with their professional responsibility.
Social workers work in a variety of different settings, some of these are; mental institutions, child protection services, hospitals, counselling for individuals, families, groups, couples, working with youth, interventions, parenting strategies, welfare, helping the poor, migrants, communities and there are many more.( The Code of Ethics 1999, p. 8) under 3 Values and Principals 3.2.1 Principles a) clearly states that “Social workers promote distributive justice and social fairness, acting to reduce barriers and expand choice and potential for all persons, with special regard for those who are disadvantaged, vulnerable, oppressed, or have exceptional needs”.