Social workers have several responsibilities. They have to provide service, justice, and dignity to a client. They have to possess integrity, competence, and patience. Social workers need to possess knowledge of human rights, and how to perform scientific inquiry. Social workers occasionally have cases in which problems ensue and a solution is not found within a certain time frame. Social workers must be able to act on an issue quickly and effectively. Situations can vary depending on the case, the client, and the persons involved in the case.
The social work profession and its Code of Ethics dictate that social workers must act in the best interest of the client, even when those actions challenge the practitioner’s personal, cultural and religious values. In practice; however, ethical decision-making is more complex than in theory. As helping professionals, social workers are constantly faced with ethical decision-making or ethical dilemmas. As noted by Banks (2005), an ethical dilemma occurs “when a worker is faced with a choice between two equally unwelcome alternatives that may involve a conflict of moral principles, and it is not clear what choice will be the right one” (as cited in McAuliffe & Chenoweth, 2008, p. 43). In addition, ethical
As a statutory adult social worker, I am responding to a service user’s self-referral regarding support for herself and husband, Ian, on hospital advice after Ian suffered a couple of falls. Jackie, 69, is a carer for Ian, 66, who has increasing needs due to dementia. My duty is to conduct a needs assessment for Ian and a carer assessment for Jackie to identify the impact upon their wellbeing, including the effect on relationships with others (Care Act, 2015:c23:p1:s1). The visit’s objective is to obtain better outcomes and maintain independence to enable Ian to remain at home for longer. These aims are achieved by assisting the couple to utilise their own strengths, like skills or help from family and friends, and signposting them to suitable universal or early help services specialising in preventative measures (Scie, 2016). My duty also involves providing comprehensive advice and information in relation to the couple 's rights and entitlements so they can make informed decisions over their choices of support (LGA, 2015).
In the social work profession, it is a requirement to have a thorough understanding of ethics and some of the ethical dilemmas that one can face. On my journey as a social work student one of my assignments was specific to ethical dilemmas. The ethical dilemma that I chose to write in this paper about was multiple relationships and violating counselor client boundaries. The class that I wrote this in was HMS 102 which was values of human services. The main topic of the paper focused on the negative effects of sexual relationships. It also discussed crossing boundaries with clients and having other relationships such as friendships or other kinds of attachments to the client. In my field placement at Hardin Memorial Hospital social workers may have to be carful not to cross boundaries with clients especially in such a small town in which you may possibly know or know of a client.
One of the principles ethical dilemma I will experience with a client as a Human Service Professional is respecting the client 's right to freedom. Meaning that the client is eventually in charge of making his decisions and finding solutions to their problems. No matter if we agree with the client decisions. We must respect and provide the client with guidance and help clients explore their options. We cannot allow our beliefs and personal biases to influence the client. I believe this will be an ethical dilemma to deal. When my desire as the worker is to help the client work to the best of his/her interest and the need to respect his right to act in a way that the client feels best for him, may interfere with my job. Also, I consider confidentiality
The article “Ethics and Value Dilemmas in Social Work” is written by Suncica Dimitrijevska and Vladimir Ilievski, published by Polirom & Universitatea Bucureşti - Dept. de Sociologie is Asistenţă Socialăby 2016.The article talks about the ethics which a social worker needs to follow and the dilemmas which they face while they deal with the different cases in their day to day life. A social worker 's decision never gets influenced by the clients age, culture, psyche or psychological abilities. This article discusses about various topics like, ‘ethical dilemmas during client support, values and knowledge in social work, values dilemmas of the clients encountered by the social workers, areas of ethical dilemmas facing social work and steps for solving the ethical dilemmas’(Dimitrijoska, Ilievski- 2016, p.49).
From time to time, social work practitioners face different challenges and one of such example is being confronted with ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma is defined as “when the social worker sees himself or herself as facing a choice between two equally unwelcoming alternatives, which may involve a conflict of moral values, and it is not clear which choice will be the right one” (Banks, 2012). Ethical dilemmas can occur in the context of either client or organisational-related conflict situations at work.
Bisman, C. (2014). Social Work Values: The Moral Core of the Profession. British Journal of Social Work, 34, 109-123.
The study of history is unique in that one must trust the accounts of others to fill in what they do not know, a theme which is exemplified, almost exaggerated, in the Japanese film Rashomon. The film demonstrates some of the most important concepts in historiography that when applied can lead to a much more accurate and rich understanding of history, such as bias, multicultural perspective, and credibility.
Juvenile Cancer affects those under the age of eighteen. This chronic illness is difficult for the child and parents; however, it becomes even more problematic when ethical disputes are involved. These disputes can cause an uprising amongst social workers and physicians. These disputes can cause dilemmas with social workers ethically and morally. One of the biggest disputes is giving these juvenile cancer patients the ability to decide on their own care. Morally, social workers understand that the child is tired; however, ethically they are unable to allow the patient to stop the treatments without the parents or guardians’ consent. This is where these ethical disputes come into play.
When faced with an ethical problem or issue in any career affecting societal concerns, I would use moral reasoning and the knowledge about ethical principles I learned in my assignments and courses to make an informed and moral decision when presented with an issue. In my courses at Ashford, I learned a great deal about ethics in the SOC 120: Introduction to Ethics and Social Responsibility course. From the academic knowledge I’ve gained through this course, I am able to apply the four ethical principles, autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice, as guidelines when faced with clinical decisions working in the medical field. In SOC 120, I was able to learn and research how ethics applies to healthcare, health professionals, and hospitals, which is essential for my career in health informatics, and as a pharmacy
The ethical dilemma I have decided to analyze is workplace discrimination and everything surrounding it. Workplace discrimination is treating and or threatening any person because of their religion, race, ethnicity, views, sexual orientation, and or any other personal characteristics that is protected by the law. Work discrimination can happen in any field or profession ranging from education all the way to law enforcement; it can happen anywhere. Studies have shown that through this decade alone there have been well over 90,000 changes filed involving workplace discrimination, and it 's estimated that 44.5% is involving employers, 34.7% is pertaining to racial discrimination, and that rate of workplace
Social work assessment is a collaborative process that involves the exploration, organisation, and analysis of information for decision making about the problem and its solution. Ideally, information obtained from a Social Worker 's data collection and assessment will result in an understanding of the client’s presenting problem, the client’s motivation for change, and the client’s inner and environmental resources, as well as a realistic assessment of his/her adaptive capabilities. Based on this understanding, the Social Worker and client should reach a mutual agreement on problem definition that represents both their thoughts and is acceptable to both parties.
With the rise of technology and the easy access the world has to the internet, social media had dramastically evolved and expanded over the past few decades. This social media allows us to share posts with the public, increase our followers, and increase our likes we
Ethical decision-making process are influenced by both individual and environmental characteristics, as well as an interaction with the cognitive process (Cooper, 2012). For every public official whose loyalty is to himself, his organization, and the public, the ethical decision-making process is dynamic, it is not constant, it involves a process of recognizing the problem and moving through the course of action towards finding a possible solution. It is contingent upon several factors. There is no one-size-fits-all for every situation, but the course of action is determined by the individual and environmental factors involved and the ethical character the public official has built over time.