Analysis of professional secrecy in Ibero-America: Ethical and legal perspectives

Eight Ibero-American political constitutions that include professional secrecy (confidentiality) as a constitutional guarantee are analysed, and their influence as a fundamental right in the professional practice of librarians is examined. The impact of professional secrecy is established in professional codes of ethics, and it is shown that they do not clearly express this principle; its application in trade unions has limited effectiveness. The various difficulties involved in preserving professional secrecy in library practice, which work centres try to violate, are shown.

The relationship between workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics among a sample of Iranian nurses

Background Many studies have investigated the adherence to professional codes of ethics by nurses. However, no study has explicitly examined the relationship between workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics among Iranian nurses. Objective This study aimed to explore the relationships between workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics among a sample of Iranian nurses. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 213 nurses who were randomly selected from the different wards of Shahid Beheshti Hospital of Kashan, Iran. Data collection instruments included a personal characteristics questionnaire, the Nursing Ethics Questionnaire, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index. The Chi-square, the Spearman correlation coefficient, the Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data. Results A majority of nurses were females (77.5%), married (79.3%), and permanently employed (55.4%). The mean of the overall perceived workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics were 76.36 ± 13.64 and 13.98 ± 2.58, that were at high and moderated level, respectively. Spearman correlation test showed no significant correlation between perceived workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics ( r = 0.03, P = 0.6). A significant difference was found between the mean scores of adherence to professional codes of ethics in nurses working in different departments ( P < 0.001). Conclusion Participating nurses perceived high levels of workload but their mean adherence to professional codes of ethics was at a moderate level. The perceived workload was indirectly correlated with adherence to professional codes of ethics.

Know Yourself and Your Responsibilities

Knowing yourself and your responsibilities requires that you understand your ethical assumptions and frameworks. This chapter identifies four major ethical theories that inform professional codes of ethics: deontology, consequentialism, ethics of care, and virtue ethics. It also provides a typology for the mental health professional’s use of self that includes (a) negative underinvolvement, (b) positive underinvolvement, (c) positive overinvolvement, and (d) negative overinvolvement. It ties each of these positions to the use of a hierarchy of professional influence, ranging from persuasion, leverage, inducement, and threat to compulsion. It also addresses the professional responsibilities of school-based mental health providers in regards to federal legislation, self-care, and their respective codes of ethics. It ends with a set of ethical guidelines and exercises for reflection.

Client-Centred Career Development Practice: A Critical Review

The purpose of this chapter is to question and critique the concept of client-centredness, which is often taken for granted in careers work. Client-centredness has been at the heart of ethical career development practice for many years, to the point that it has become accepted as a given by many professional practitioners. On the surface, questioning it seems unwise and even unthinkable, but at a deeper level it is important to consider its flaws, the limitations it can sometimes place on professional practice, and the ethical dilemmas that can then ensue. Some potential challenges in relation to client-centredness and professional codes of ethics aree highlighted. The chapter concludes with a theoretical model that seeks to reposition the concept of client-centredness in a way that recognises the culture of the client, the factors at play in clients’ lives, and the labour market context in which clients are making career decisions.