Ethics & Professional Conduct

Ethics and Professional Conduct

(6 CEUs in Ethics for Full Day; 3 CEUs for the Half-Day Course)

Course Description

This course focuses on the nature, foundations, and principles of ethical thinking, as these apply to problems that arise in the social service professions, or helping professions, such as social work, clinical psychology, and nursing. The primary purpose of the course is to bring out the ways in which consistent, reflective ethical reasoning can help social service professionals to more confidently approach and resolve the most difficult problems that they confront. Emphasis is placed on critical thinking about ethics.

Social service professionals already have a solid general awareness of what options they have when they confront an ethical dilemma. In this course we explore models for making a sound ethical choice from among the options in question. Along the way we will consider factors that allow sincere, intelligent people to reach divergent conclusions about similar ethical problems and ways of managing such divergence.

Learning Objectives Participants who complete this course should be able to: Identify and explain crucial features of ethical thinking Demonstrate ways in which ethical thinking applies to real life problems, in both professional and personal life Identify the principal themes of the Code of Ethics of NASW and show how in general terms they apply to such problems. Explain the nature of ethical dilemmas Identify some ways to resolve these dilemmas Demonstrate the ability to think critically about professional ethics Discuss the distinction between making moral judgements and being judgemental

Bibliography and suggestions for further reading

Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by Sir David Ross. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1980.

Code of Ethical Practice and Professional Conduct. State of Ohio Counselor, Social Worker and Marriage & Family Therapist Board. 1985, with subsequent revisions.  www.state.oh.us/csw/ethics.html

Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Approved by the 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly and revised by the 1999 NASW Delegate Assembly. www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp

Beauchamp, Tom L. and LeRoy Walters, eds. Contemporary Issues in Bioethics. 6th ed.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 2003.

Kant, Immanuel. Foundations (or Groundwork) of the Metaphysics of Morals (1785).
There are many editions currently available.

Mappes, Thomas and Jane Zembaty, eds. Social Ethics: Morality and Social Policy. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.

Mill, John Stuart. Utilitarianism (1863). There are many editions currently available of the entire book, often as a part of a collection of readings.

Rachels, James. Elements of Moral Philosophy. 4th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2003.

Reamer, Frederic G. Ethical Standards in Social Work. NASW Press, 1998

Shanahan, Timothy and Robin Wang, eds. Reason and Insight - Western and Eastern Perspectives on the Pursuit of Moral Wisdom. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2003.

William Shakespeare, Hamlet, Cyrus Hoy ed., 2nd edition. W. W. Norton, 1992.