Beyond the Code of Ethics, Part I: Complexities of Ethical Decision Making in Social Work Practice

2002 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 474-482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Freud ◽  
Stefan Krug
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
National Association ◽  
Management Tool ◽  
Ethical Implications

The authors have acquired experience in, and opinions on, ethical decision making while serving on a (U.S.) National Association of Social Workers (NASW) peer consultation ethics call line. The authors agree with scholars who view all human perceptions and activities as shaped by values, with the concurrent need to become more self-conscious about the ethical dimension of our daily life and professional practice. It is argued that our social work code of ethics is a necessary but insufficient tool for ethical decision making. The Code of Ethics (National Association of Social Workers, 1996) is frequently used as a risk management tool, offering guidelines for practice which may or may not be compatible with the goals of social justice for which social work ideally stands. Additionally, the unique and unexpected ways ethical issues emerge in clinical practice work against attempts to apply the Code as a rule book. Distinctions between ethical, legal, and clinical issues are difficult, given that the two latter domains have inevitable ethical implications. The authors urge readers to supplement a model of purely rational, ethical decision making with their emotions and intuition as shaped by our culture and our profession. Ethical judgments are best made in small groups where members bring different perspectives and intuitions to the process while agreeing on basic humanistic values.

Religious and Secular Belief Systems in Social Work: A Survey of Israeli Social Work Professionals

2003 ◽  
Vol 84 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rujla Osmo ◽  
Ruth Landau
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Belief Systems ◽  
Belief System ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
The Impact

In this study, the authors examined the impact of religiosity on social workers' ranking of ethical principles. The findings indicate that religiosity may be a distinguishing variable in some, but not all, contexts of ethical decision making in social work practice. The religiosity of religious social workers may influence their ethical decision making in situations with religious connotations. Moreover, religious social workers' ethical hierarchies seem to be more consistent both in different contexts and in comparison to those of secular social workers. The prospect that social workers may be influenced in some situations by a competing code of rules in conflict with the professional code of ethics emphasizes the need for social workers' awareness of their own belief system.

scholarly journals Ethical decision-making of social workers in Spain during COVID-19: Cases and responses

2021 ◽  
pp. 147332502110501
Author(s):  
María-Jesús Úriz ◽  
Juan-Jesús Viscarret ◽  
Alberto Ballestero
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Vulnerable Groups ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Emergency Situations ◽  
Decision Making Processes

In this article we address the ethical decision-making processes of social work professionals in Spain during the first wave of COVID-19. We present some of the findings from a broader international research project led by professor Sarah Banks and carried out in collaboration with the International Federation of Social Workers. The first wave of COVID-19 had a major impact in Spain, hitting harder the most vulnerable groups. In this unprecedented and unexpected context, social workers had to make difficult ethical decisions on fundamental issues such as respecting service-user’s autonomy, prioritizing wellbeing, maintaining confidentiality or deciding the fair distribution of the scarce resources. There were moments of uncertainty and difficult institutional responses. The broader international project was carried out using an online questionnaire addressed to social work professionals in several countries. In this article, through several specific cases, we examine the ethical decision-making processes of social work professionals in Spain, as well as the way to resolve that situations. We have used a qualitative content analysis with a deductive approach to analyze the responses and cases. Findings show many difficult situations concerning the prioritization of the wellbeing of users without limiting their autonomy, the invention of new organizational protocols to provide support and resources for vulnerable people… Social workers had to manage the bureaucracy and had to solve some emergency situations getting personally involved or developing other cooperation mechanisms. The pandemic forced them to look for new forms of social intervention.

scholarly journals Negotiating the Path of Ethical Decision-Making in Health Care Social Work

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Beverlee McIntosh ◽  
Ralph Vander Hoek
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Case Examples ◽  
The Social

Understanding ethical decision-making in the context of “end of life” and other health care situations is examined using a model, which describes the process of decision-making and the influences of resources, knowledge, values, responsibility and the law. Social Work case examples from various health care settings illustrate the process and influences, giving particular attention to end of life issues. Social Work practice challenges, guidelines and suggestions are outlined in the article. The role of the social worker and the influences of the social workers’ own values, knowledge and beliefs, such as the client-centered approach and empowerment, are seen as important components of the process and influences.

Purchasing Power and Self-Determination: Social Worker Perspectives

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte Bailey ◽  
Debbie Plath ◽  
Alankaar Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Purchasing Power ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Management Approaches

Abstract The international policy trend towards personalised budgets, which is designed to offer people with disabilities purchasing power to choose services that suit them, is exemplified in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS). This article examines how the ‘purchasing power’ afforded to service users through individualised budgets impacts on social work practice and the choice and self-determination of NDIS service users. Social workers’ views were sought on the alignment between the NDIS principles of choice and control and social work principles of participation and self-determination and how their social work practice has changed in order to facilitate client access to supports through NDIS budgets and meaningful participation in decision-making. A survey was completed by forty-five social workers, and in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with five of these participants. The findings identify how social workers have responded to the shortfalls of the NDIS by the following: interpreting information for clients; assisting service users to navigate complex service provision systems; supporting clients through goal setting, decision-making and implementation of action plans; and adopting case management approaches. The incorporation of social work services into the NDIS service model is proposed in order to facilitate meaningful choice and self-determination associated with purchasing power.

Beyond the Code of Ethics, Part II: Dual Relationships Revisited

2002 ◽  
Vol 83 (5) ◽  
pp. 483-492 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Freud ◽  
Stefan Krug
Keyword(s):  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Dual Relationships ◽  
Social Work Educators ◽  
Social Work Practitioners

The authors, both social work educators, serve on an ethics call line committee that provides insights on how the provisions of the (United States) National Association of Social Workers Code of Ethics (NASW, 1996) interface with the ethical dilemmas encountered by the social work community. In this paper, the authors highlight aspects of social work practice that they consider ethical, yet not easily accommodated by the provisions of the current Code. They also question the 1996 introduction of the concept of dual relationships into the Code and suggest that the Code adopt the less ambiguous term of boundary violations. Also recognized by the authors is the need for clear boundaries for the protection of clients against temptations that might arise in a fiduciary relationship, and for the legal protection of social workers. But, the authors argue, social work practitioners in certain settings, with particular populations, and in certain roles, inevitably face multiple relationships as an integral aspect of their work. The authors conclude that social work's adoption of the psychoanalytic constrains of anonymity, neutrality, and abstinence has detoured the profession from its original double focus on individuals and their society.

Continuing Education in Ethical Decision Making Using Case Studies From Medical Social Work

2014 ◽  
Vol 53 (4) ◽  
pp. 344-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew J. McCormick ◽  
Patti Stowell-Weiss ◽  
Jennifer Carson ◽  
Gerald Tebo ◽  
Inga Hanson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Continuing Education ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Medical Social Work

Teaching Ethics in Nursing

2002 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-268 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leyla Dinç ◽  
Refia Selma Görgülü
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Code Of Ethics ◽  
Legal Aspects ◽  
Examination System ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Case Study Analysis ◽  
Effective Learning ◽  
School Of Nursing

Being a professional nurse requires ethical decision making and this in turn necessitates an effective learning process. The active participation of students in the teaching of ethics will contribute to this process. This study was conducted at Hacettepe University School of Nursing, Ankara, Turkey, to determine the views of students about the nursing ethics content in the curriculum, the examination system, and some educational characteristics of the teachers responsible for the course. The sample comprised 113 students who participated voluntarily. In general, the students expressed a positive view relating to the course content and the teachers. The majority stated that the discussions on case study analysis by using ethical principles, rights, legal aspects and the use of the International Council of Nurses Code of Ethics were very useful in developing ethical decision-making skills. We believe that the results of this study will enhance our efforts in amending this course and improving the ethical decision-making skills of our students.

scholarly journals Social work leaders’ authenticity positively influences their dispositions toward ethical decision-making

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (5) ◽  
pp. 809-825
Author(s):  
Radek Trnka ◽  
Martin Kuška ◽  
Peter Tavel ◽  
Aleš A. Kuběna
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Ethical Decision ◽  
Ethical Decision Making
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