Original Post

reading the National Association of Social Workers “Code of Ethics (Links to an external site.)” article, discuss one of the six major principals emphasizing its meaning, significance and implications for practice. What struggles might you see in the practice of this principle? Reply in 250-300 words. Respond to at least two of your classmate’s posts.

Please respond to the 2 classmates below:

Classmate #1 Michelle Greene

Ethical Principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person.

Social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful fashion, mindful of individual differences and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers promote clients’ socially responsible self-determination. Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Social workers are cognizant of their dual responsibility to clients and to the broader society. They seek to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the broader society’s interests in a socially responsible manner consistent with the values, ethical principles, and ethical standards of the profession. (National Association of Social Workers,2013)

I think this ethical principal explains its meaning quite well but in my own words I think that respecting the inherent dignity and worth of a person means getting to know them. The concept of dignity in the healthcare context is complex and controversial. Dignity by its dictionary definition is “the quality of being worthy of honor and respect.” Maintaining dignity in communication is being a good listener, asking questions, and getting to know them so you might understand how to best communicate with them. There are several ways that people communicate through several different languages, speech, written information, and through actions. Dignity through choice and control is all about empowering people, allowing them to do things for themselves, respecting their cultures and traditions, allowing them to make their own decisions and choices, and supporting how they choose to live so that they still feel in control of their lives. Individual needs are understood through getting to know that person. Privacy is also a fundamental factor of maintaining dignity in social care because there are several aspects of our life’s we consider private such as our bedrooms, bathrooms, phone calls, mail, relationships etc. Social inclusion and participation also go hand in hand with dignity and worth in social care. Social inclusion includes feeling like you are a part of a community it is the process of improving the terms on which individuals and groups take part in society; improving the ability, opportunity, and dignity of those disadvantaged on the basis of their identity. All of these aspects should be considered and followed so far as it does not put the individual at risk.

References

National Association of Social Workers. (2013). Code of ethics (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of…

Classmate #2 Sara Chaplin

Ethical principle: Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of a person

I believe that the meaning given in the article was spot on. Social workers are to treat clients in a caring and respectful fashion while being mindful of individual differences along with cultural and ethnic diversity. They also promote the clients’ social responsible self-determination. They also seek to enhance the clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and address their own needs. They are aware of their dual responsibility to the clients and to the society. They seek to resolve conflicts between clients’ interests and the rest of the society in a responsible manner.

Some struggles i might see are some of the social workers might get too involved with the client/patient and form an unhealthy bond. They could be putting in so much effort with little to no help from the client. They could also be doing all this work to help them and they don’t appreciate it or use it.