Social Work Ethical Dilemmas

1895 Words4 Pages

In the Social Work field, you will help others better their life circumstances and grow from the problem(s) they are experiencing. So it is important that you maintain and provide clear boundaries to make sure you keep professional responsibility and integrity. Over the years, the field of social work has faced many ethical challenges. You must follow the NASW Code of Ethics, HIPPA and core values. If in any situation that you violate one of the standards, guidelines or policies it is considered unethical. In this paper I will discuss a brief summary of the roles of the NASW code of Ethics, HIPPA and the core values. I will also discuss some of the common ethical dilemmas that are faced by child welfare workers during their time of practice. While doing a little research, I have drawn the conclusion that over the years that’s the values and ethics have matured greatly. Reamer (2006) states that over the years, beliefs about social work’s values and ethics have served as the foundation for the professions mission. As a social worker, the NASW Code of Ethics, the CSWE Educational Policy and Standards, and HIPAA are all important pieces of information that social workers must know and follow. With the NASW Code of Ethics, it goes hand and hand with the professional ethics of a social worker. All social workers must have a core of professional ethic in the work setting. The NASW (2015) Code of Ethics sets principles, values and standards to guide social workers conduct. This code is relevant too off of those whom are social workers, students, and studying the social work profession regardless of who they serve. The codes main purpose is to set standards to guide the decision making and conduct of professionals when ethical issue arise. “A recent Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) publication (Black et al., 2002) lists over 260 references, focused for the most part on US social work values and ethics”(Elaine Congress & Donna McAullife, 2006 p. I believe that the most common ones are differences in morals and values, confidentiality, right to self-determination, dual relationships, and receiving gifts. I put morals and values first because I personally believe that it is the biggest issue that is faced among all issues. Everyone’s religious and cultural views are different. Not everyone comes from the same background so sometimes it is hard for some to accept others views. As a social worker you are entitled to your own values and set of morals, despite the different values and morals from your clients. I know sometimes when you are with a client it can get a little difficult to not give your opinion or feedback based on what you believe in. It can be offensive to those who have different beliefs or values. It is not necessary to display your indifference if it does not involve trying to help the client in a positive way. Next is confidentiality, I have learned that conflict commonly comes about when the confusion about confidentiality versus the right to self-determination. This is more so commonly in suicidal clients than any other group. As a social worker you must respect your client’s privacy and confidentiality so you do not disclose any information that the clients was given you without written consent. Not only confidentiality but the right to

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