The Code of Ethics - Responsibilities to the Broader Society

Knowing the NASW Code of Ethics means knowing the entire NASW Code of Ethics. To be prepared for the clinical social work exam, it's wise to dig past the micro practice principles in the code and continue all the way through to item #6, "Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society." That includes four subsections: social welfare, public participation, public emergencies, and social and political action. Here are those sections with details:

Social Welfare
Social workers should promote the general welfare of society, from local to global levels, and the development of people, their communities, and their environments. Social workers should advocate for living conditions conducive to the fulfillment of basic human needs and should promote social, economic, political, and cultural values and institutions that are compatible with the realization of social justice.

Public Participation
Social workers should facilitate informed participation by the public in shaping social policies and institutions.

Public Emergencies
Social workers should provide appropriate professional services in public emergencies to the greatest extent possible.

Social and Political Action
This one's got several paragraphs--we covered it in an earlier post.  As it says there, it shouldn't take you by surprise to see this material appear on the exam. Public participation and political action have been on the rise, and social workers have either been a part of it or have wrestled with whether or not to be a part of it. That, of course, includes exam writers. What are they most likely to create questions about? Whatever's on their mind.

Read the entire NASW Code of Ethics here. Then read it again. This is important stuff--for the exam and beyond. Enjoy!