Nasw Code Of Ethics Essay

813 Words4 Pages

A comprehensive set of ethical standards in the social work profession has evolved significantly since its founding in 1960. The ethical standards are created to take up ethical concerns in practice and to offer guidelines for establishing what behavior is ethically acceptable or unacceptable behavior is. Over the years with historical trends, such as The Civil Rights Act 1964, Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, discrimination based on sexual orientation, and gender equality, the ethical standards have been crafted to provide a comprehensive guide to ethical practices. The NASW Code of Ethics is a guide for ethical decision making, and social workers vow to abide by the fundamental values of the profession. The following ethical principles are based on social work's core values of service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence (NASW, 1999). These principles are to be used when assisting clients and their needs. Social workers also should be attentive of the impact on ethical decision making of their clients' and their personal values and cultural and religious beliefs and practices. They should be aware of any conflicts between personal and professional values and deal with them responsibly (NASW, 1999). Ethical dilemmas are …show more content…

The more knowledge social workers have, the more likely they are to come up with strategies for abuse prevention and management. Social workers have a duty to assess elderly patients according to recommended protocols and report suspected abuse to designated authorities. Although the aged client has the right to self-determination, the NASW Code of Ethics also asserts “Social workers may limit clients’ right to self-determination when, in the social workers’ professional judgment, clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others” (NASW,