SW Ethics Flashcards
Ethical standards
Ethical standards can also be used to hold social workers accountable for poor decisions, through malpractice suits, regulatory body sanctions, and other adjudication mechanisms
Values
Values are core beliefs about what is right, good, or preferable.
The values held by each individual guy, their choices and actions on a daily basis
Some values are broader, general, such as honesty, freedom, productivity, or accountability
Professional values

Professional values refer to the core beliefs of a profession, to ideals, reflecting the origins of the field in the hallmarks of contemporary practice
They are also the basis for standards to guide the conduct of people within the profession
What are the NASW core values?
Social workers need to commit themselves to the NASW’s six core values: service, social justice, the dignity and worth of each person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence.
Addressing conflicts
Different steps may apply, depending on the nature of the value, conflict, but reflection, education, consultation, and experience are generally effective methods for reconciling discrepant values
Self-awareness is essential part of professional preparation
Continued: addressing conflicts
Education and supervision are also useful for exploring the implications of the individuals failure to embrace values, such as those about acceptance and relationships
Continued: addressing conflict
Value conflicts go beyond the individual social worker to reflect cultural schisms, where the professions values are at odds with those of the society in which it is situated
Continued: addressing conflicts
Reflection, help social workers, identify the nature of conflict and keep the professions values in the forefront, even when the values are unpopular
Ethics
Ethics our values in action
For the individual, personal values result in an individual code of conduct, which is in translates into choices and behaviors.
Core areas in social work ethics
Self-determination is the right to make decisions that guide your life, and indeed the right to be let alone (Brandeis & Warren, 1890, p.193)
Inform consent
The doctrine of informed consent requires that helping professionals disclose the nature of services to be provided in the accompanying risks, benefits, and alternatives
Non-discrimination
Social worker should not practice, condone, facilitate or collaborate with any form of discrimination. On the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, social orientation, age, marital status, political, beliefs, religion, or mental physical (NASW, 2008, 4.02)
Professionalism
Standards around professionalism, encourage social workers to go be on their individual behaviors to take responsibility for improving their organizations’ practices and ensure that agencies’ policies do not impinge an ethical practice
