Social Care Environment: Ethical Practice Essay

In health and social care setting, ethical principles can occur and this will be a difficulty because this would mean it doesn’t promote justice for the service users which can lead to be discriminated against and cause depression. When in health and social care setting, service providers need to make sure that no service user is discriminate and that is doesn’t occur in the environment. If that doesn’t happen, then there could be negative reports that service users could make that could lead for that service provision to be closed down.

Health and social care workers also will need to have a clear understanding of their legal position, and the morals and ethics that form the basis of their best interests. In such legislation and professional codes of practice can provide valuable guidance for the health and social care worker.

The commitment to act ethically is an essential aspect of social work due to the effect it can have on the quality of the service offered to those who engage with us. Through group discussions in our foundations of social work practice I have become extremely ethically aware and now will always seek to ascertain and respect, as far as possible, each individual’s preferences, wishes and involvement in decision making. From discussions with my fellow classmates I have learnt to strive to respect and uphold the values and principles of the profession by making sure I promote and work towards the code of ethics wherever possible. This in turn enables me act in a reliable, honest and trustworthy manner having worked closely with service users in a professional setting and learned of their good and bad experiences with practitioners through the service user experience we undertook in class. I believe I am now in a good position to apply the social work ethical principles to my professional practice, in a way that seeks to empower my service users and enable me to emulate the best practice. In addition from reading social work journals and staying on top of news regarding the profession more generally I am knowledgeable about the value base of social work as a profession .

Social workers take the role of different responsibilities to serve clients to enable them to achieve best outcome. Social workers do this by following the legal framework of social work practice and the code of ethic of HCPC standard of proficiency. Through practice, practitioners face a number of ethical dilemmas. An ethical dilemma is a situation in which there is a choice between two equal unwelcome alternatives which a social worker have to make relating to human welfare.

“The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW) Code of Ethics has established values and principles to guide social workers’ professional conduct. Ethical behaviour comes from a social worker’s individual commitment to engage in ethical practice” (CASW, 2005). The CASW holds true to 6 core values i.e.; 1: Respect for Inherent Dignity and Worth of Persons, 2: Pursuit of Social Justice, 3: Service to Humanity, 4: Integrity of Professional Practice, 5: Confidentiality in Professional

The ETHICS framework was developed to assist people working in care settings and offers a structured way of assessing a course of action in order to come to an ethically informed decision. It emphasizes the need to be able to select a course of action based upon guidance, information and established principles, as well as the individual’s beliefs. The framework requires practitioners to firstly, Enquire about the relevant facts of the case, Think about the options that are available to all involved, Hear the views of everyone (including service user, family members and relevant providers), Identify any relevant ethical principles and values which may help to guide the decision–making process, Clarify the meaning and consequences of any key values and finally Select a course of action offering supporting arguments (K217, Book4, p32).

In the field of social work, social workers work with a range of people from individuals, families, communities, and organizations. Social workers may face ethical issues in their work with their clients or working in policy practice for example. This paper will discuss social work ethics that relate to policy practice with using an example of an ethical standard of cultural competency and social diversity that is relative to a policy such as health care while discussing what ethical responsibilities a policy analyst are. In the field of social work, social workers work with various issues that can impact a range from individuals to families, to communities and organizations.

Also, shanana’s phone was switched off causing unnecessary panic for others. (Code of practice) In conclusion, the ethical issues in the health and social care sector have a growing concern for the professionals. Ethical standards are becoming an issue with various problems springing up as regards ethical codes and conduct in the working environment of the professionals hence the need for improvement .an organisation can improve its standards by empowering the employees to produce better results.

(Thomas and Pierson, 1995, pp. 134-5) It is the role of a social worker to comment, on procedures and practices which are anti-oppressive and empowering and to contribute and promote the development of these. They should also be respectful towards people’s values, culture, goals and preferences. As social workers there should be no discrimination in the work place by recognising their own prejudices and not use that to oppressive groups or individuals. Colleagues that display any act of discrimination or prejudice should be challenged and be reported by social workers and insure services are delivered and proposed in a suitable way. Another ethical principle under the human rights act is respecting the right to self-determination. As social workers irrespective of their values and beliefs should support people’s judgement and right to form their own choices if this does not affect the rights and safety of others. Self-determining requires the capability to form a resolution and carrying out the choices of the decision due to one’s own desires. (Pg.29 Sarah banks)

The AASW’S provision of these standards and guidelines not only allow a professional identity to form and strengthen, but also provide a safe and caring environment for all individuals. Through displaying respect and understanding, a social worker can build a rapport with multiple clients and reach set goals, as the care and information of a client is effectively prioritized through confidentiality rights and various other guidelines set by AASW. It has been argued that social workers ‘must be professionally assertive in order to keep their values afloat’ (Beddoe, 2013), thus being the reason there are multiple guidelines. Although this can be evident, professional identity can benefit from the code of ethics and guidelines put in place by AASW as it allows health professionals, especially social workers, to build upon their own professionalism within the workplace

Working in the field of human services of the needy puts highly consideration for ethical standards to follow. Most of the needy cases give too much detailed concerning their situations; therefore, they are vulnerable. Ethical codes help therapists, psychologists and social workers to know what to do towards an ethical issue, and how to avoid unethical issues in the first place. The ethical standards for resolving ethical issues and for privacy and confidentiality are crucial ethics to follow in my current job.

Ethics are essential to social work practice and run through all facets of practice. The emphasis of this argument is on student placement and the expectation of the student to work within the ‘code of ethics’ framework that supports the agencies policy, systems and rules.

“The ability to make effective decisions is fundamental for success in personal and professional life”. (The Open University (1), 2016). The social work role involves making professional judgements which are both evidence based (Social care institute for excellence, 2007), and in line with legislation (Collins and Daly, 2011). Additionally, “Ethical awareness is fundamental to the professional practice of social workers”. Social workers are expected to make “ethically informed decisions about how to act” through effective analysis and reflection on practice. (British Association of Social Workers, 2012). This essay aims to reflect on the authors personal decision making processes through reflecting on a practice example where the author had a substantial role in decision making. This aims to analyse the author’s professional judgement in relation to the organisational context, demonstrating the author’s professional autonomy and accountability. For the purpose of this essay all names have been changed to protect the individual’s confidentiality in line with the Data Protection Act 1998.

of ethics for examples that may be used in creating our own code of ethics. NASW’s

As social workers continue their journey through the field exploring their niche and learning new ways of working with clients, there may be ethical dilemmas that they may face. Reamer (2013), explains an ethical dilemma as “a situation in which professional duties and obligations, rooted in core values, clash (pg. 4). A social worker must be careful when an ethical dilemma rises because if the wrong choice is made then their career, client and other outside factors can be at risk. When this “clash” of professional obligations and core values occur, it is best to discuss the situation with colleagues, a supervisor, or even call the NASW for advice. It is also important to refer to the NASW code of ethics online to make sure that the situation is indeed an ethical dilemma. In the following paragraphs, I am going to discuss an ethical dilemma that I have encountered, along with principles in the conflict and how I resolved the situation.