Code of Ethics

By: Katy Fedurek
Prompted Blog #2

The National Association of Social Work (NASW) created a code of ethics in 1960 that is based on the ethical principles of “service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, the importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence” (“Code of Ethics”). One value that stood out to me while reading the code of ethics was service. The NASW’s principle on service is:“Social workers’ primary goal is to help people in need and to address social problems. Social workers elevate service to others above self-interest. Social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems. Social workers are encouraged to volunteer some portion of their professional skills with no expectation of significant financial return (pro bono service)."

Source: http://www.naswin.org/?page=ExploreSocialWork 

This value of service relates to my ethics and values in many ways. Volunteering has always been a large component of my life. Growing up my parents would make my brother and me help in downtown Detroit by working at soup kitchens or homeless shelters. We would take time away from our busy schedules to go out and use our skills and knowledge to better the community around us. In high school, my commitment to volunteering continued and I started to volunteer more outside of my own community. I became a part of a youth group through my church and we would go on mission trips down south every summer. As a group, we would help families in need by fixing their houses. But after a week of 8 hour work days, we not only put on a new roof on their house but gave these families hope that there is good in the world. These mission trips shaped me into who I am today because they taught me how to put service above my own self-interest. Although service came before the needs of myself, I kept going on these trips because I also grew as a person. These experiences made me take a step back in my own life and realize how fortunate I am.

Personally, I believe that most people know what social workers are all about. Although the media can sometimes represent social workers as the bad guys, social workers are in our society to better the society. I believe that professionals in the field of social work follow these ethics. Why would you be a social worker if you did not stand for service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence? Sometimes, when dealing with casework it could be hard to follow this code of ethics. Many times, social workers will want to help more than they are allowed or get too attached to their clients. It could also be hard to not have any bias and look at everything with an open mind. Race, religion, ethnicity, and gender are all biases that have to be overlooked by social workers. Overall, I learned a lot about the NASW’s code of ethics and learned about the commitment to the client. I found all of this material on the National Association of Social Work website. I feel that this code of ethics really exemplifies social workers and what they stand for.

Works Cited

"Code of Ethics." Www.socialworkers.org. N.p., n.d. Web.