Explain The Nasw Code Of Social Work Ethics
Social work is a profession committed to the development of the full potential of individuals, groups, and communities. “There are many ways to determine what people need from social workers. One can locate a service at the crossroads of life, observe the way people live, the strains they are subject to from their environments and their relationships, and the ways they react to these events” (Meyer,1976, p. 42).
Social Workers recognize that there are personal and structural barriers that create and maintain distress, injustice, and inequality and prevent the achievement of full potential. The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of a social worker. As a social worker, you are faced with …show more content…
making important ethical choices that impact yourself, clients, and employees. In response to these circumstances the National Association of Social Worker (NSAW) Code of Ethics and the International Federation of Social Workers/ International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW/IFSW) Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles were developed.
Along with this is a number of strategies for ethical decision making to help social worker in making choices, acting as a guidance and enabling social workers to be effective practitioners.
Managing Personal Values “Social work values, practice theories, assessments, intervention decisions, and action strategies are all shaped by our worldview assumptions and beliefs" (Hugen, 1998, p.9). When a person comes into the profession of social work, there are numerous of values to learn. As a social worker, your personal opinions get put aside to maintain a professional environment. This means, when a social worker is working with clients they should put aside previous prejudges or dispositions that could affect the client. This includes, but is not limited to skin, religious beliefs and view on abortion. Truthfully, this can be one of the challenging aspects of being a social worker. Our values are what we hold as desirable. Our values are an important part of who we are as a person. These values have been forged from social, religious, personal beliefs, to our values stem from family relations. Occasionally these personal beliefs are in conflict with the values of a social
worker. When entering into the social work profession one is not being asked to change or deny our own values, but not to let them infer with the client's treatment. As a social worker, you are called to work with different classes of people. As a social worker, we may have clients, co-workers, employees and other peers who may share different beliefs. Too you will also encounter people who are verbal about their opinions. As social workers, we have to be aware of this and be able to handle situations where a person vocalization of his or her belief can be not only damaging but dangerous. In this professional, a social worker has to learn how to deal with these dilemmas in a reasonable way. For example, If a social worker and client have differing view on abortion as a professional social worker you must respond in a not- judgmental way and provide services to this person without criticism. Another example would be if a social worker held the belief that somebody who is African American is inferior. By allowing this prejudice to appear in the workplace, a client who is African American may not receive the best possible aid. Social workers are expected to embrace a diversity of values and people. Learning to do this is a process which takes time and a willingness to do so. All people have their own convictions. It is important that they maintain separation between their values and the core values of the social work profession. These values provide services while their primary focus continues to be the needs and personal needs of the client. “With numerous of ethical dilemmas a social worker must weigh every facet of the question thoroughly exercising great care to avoid imposing their personal values inappropriately” (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012, p. 394).
Social Workers recognize that there are personal and structural barriers that create and maintain distress, injustice, and inequality and prevent the achievement of full potential. The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide to the everyday professional conduct of a social worker. As a social worker, you are faced with …show more content…
making important ethical choices that impact yourself, clients, and employees. In response to these circumstances the National Association of Social Worker (NSAW) Code of Ethics and the International Federation of Social Workers/ International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW/IFSW) Ethics in Social Work, Statement of Principles were developed.
Along with this is a number of strategies for ethical decision making to help social worker in making choices, acting as a guidance and enabling social workers to be effective practitioners.
Managing Personal Values “Social work values, practice theories, assessments, intervention decisions, and action strategies are all shaped by our worldview assumptions and beliefs" (Hugen, 1998, p.9). When a person comes into the profession of social work, there are numerous of values to learn. As a social worker, your personal opinions get put aside to maintain a professional environment. This means, when a social worker is working with clients they should put aside previous prejudges or dispositions that could affect the client. This includes, but is not limited to skin, religious beliefs and view on abortion. Truthfully, this can be one of the challenging aspects of being a social worker. Our values are what we hold as desirable. Our values are an important part of who we are as a person. These values have been forged from social, religious, personal beliefs, to our values stem from family relations. Occasionally these personal beliefs are in conflict with the values of a social
worker. When entering into the social work profession one is not being asked to change or deny our own values, but not to let them infer with the client's treatment. As a social worker, you are called to work with different classes of people. As a social worker, we may have clients, co-workers, employees and other peers who may share different beliefs. Too you will also encounter people who are verbal about their opinions. As social workers, we have to be aware of this and be able to handle situations where a person vocalization of his or her belief can be not only damaging but dangerous. In this professional, a social worker has to learn how to deal with these dilemmas in a reasonable way. For example, If a social worker and client have differing view on abortion as a professional social worker you must respond in a not- judgmental way and provide services to this person without criticism. Another example would be if a social worker held the belief that somebody who is African American is inferior. By allowing this prejudice to appear in the workplace, a client who is African American may not receive the best possible aid. Social workers are expected to embrace a diversity of values and people. Learning to do this is a process which takes time and a willingness to do so. All people have their own convictions. It is important that they maintain separation between their values and the core values of the social work profession. These values provide services while their primary focus continues to be the needs and personal needs of the client. “With numerous of ethical dilemmas a social worker must weigh every facet of the question thoroughly exercising great care to avoid imposing their personal values inappropriately” (Kirst-Ashman & Hull, 2012, p. 394).