Ethical principles that guide social work practice including confidentiality and privacy, informed consent, social justice, cultural competence, and the duty to report suspected abuse.
Code of Ethics: Introduces the principles, standards, and values that social workers should follow when it comes to professional practice, and sets the ethical standards for behavior.
Autonomy: This refers to a patient's capacity to make decisions without interference from another person or entity. Healthcare Social Workers must respect and protect autonomy in the health care setting.
Informed Consent: In healthcare, an informed consent contract between a healthcare provider and a patient is an important ethical issue. The healthcare social worker should ensure that the patient fully understands their medical condition, risks, and benefits of treatment as well as any alternatives to the proposed care.
Confidentiality: Any information obtained from patients, such as medical history or personal details, must be kept confidential by the social worker as it plays a significant role in building trust between patients and their social worker.
Right to Privacy: Patients have the right to privacy and it’s a social worker’s responsibility to maintain the privacy of patients’ personal information.
Advocacy: Social workers should be champions of social justice and advocate on behalf of patients who need support from social services such as confronting discrimination, equal access to care, or benefits.
Cultural Humility: It's important to understand that people have different values, beliefs and practices that may differ from one's own. Special attention should be given to a group's cultural norms, beliefs, and practices when delivering healthcare social services.
Professional Responsibility: Healthcare Social Workers have a legal and ethical responsibility to practice in accordance with acceptable standards of care.
Social Work Supervision: Social Work Supervision is an ongoing process that supports the development of professional roles by Healthcare Social Workers as they navigate ethical and legal matters in their work.
Ethical Dilemmas: Often, social workers will have to account for conflicts involving ethical obligations, such as making decisions where different cultural values, legal implications, or ethical principles are counterbalanced. It is important to have a set of healthcare social work ethical principles in place to guide decision-making in complex situations of this nature.
Respect for the dignity and worth of the individual: This principle requires social workers to value and uphold the inherent value and worth of each person regardless of their backgrounds, lifestyle, or behavior.
Confidentiality and Privacy: This principle requires social workers to maintain confidentiality and protect the privacy of their clients, ensuring that their personal information is only used for helping them.
Informed Consent: This principle states that social workers must obtain their client's informed consent before providing any services or interventions while making sure they understand the risks and benefits associated with each option.
Professional boundaries: Social workers should maintain professional boundaries with their clients, not getting emotionally involved in order to provide objective, unbiased help.
Dual Relationships: This principle refers to the fact that social workers should be aware of potential dual relationships that may affect their objectivity or limit their ability to provide effective treatment.
Cultural Competence and Diversity: Social workers should have awareness, experience, and sensitivity about cultural differences and that they should embrace them in their daily practice.
Competence and responsibility: This principle requires social workers to maintain expertise in their area of practice, providing clients with quality, evidence-based intervention.
Social Justice: This principle requires social workers to advocate for their clients and communities, striving to promote policies and practices that create a more equitable society.