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!

NASW Code of Ethics Changes

To pass the licensing exam, you have to have a good grasp on the NASW Code of Ethics. And to pass it after January 1st, 2018, you have to know the new version of the code.

Here it is.

What's changed? Not an enormous amount, but enough to warrant some determined review. The main areas that have been updated relate to tech. There are new guidelines for Internet searches, social media, and the like. You can just read the code and see if you notice the changes. Or, maybe better, turn to an expert or two for their run-down: Here's Alan Barsky enumerating the changes. And here's Fredrik Reamer in Social Work Today doing the same.

There's also a new ASWB content outline (find it at aswb.org). Professional values and ethics, once 18% of the exam, has gotten a meager boost to 19%. That's nearly one in five questions you'll face that will be rooted in the code. It's very much worth your while to get it known. Happy reading, happy testing. Good luck!

The Code of Ethics - Social and Political Action

The majority of ethics questions on the LCSW exam are likely to be drawn from the first sections of the NASW Code of Ethics. Informed consent, self-determination, privacy and confidentiality, etc. The bread and butter of ethics question writing. But as you're preparing, take care to read to the end of the code. Section six--last-but-not-least--is Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities to the Broader Society. The code reaches beyond clients and colleagues into the macro realm. Ethical social workers' focus is expected to extend to social welfare, public participation, help in public emergencies, and into social and political action. Here's the social and political action part in full:
 

(a) Social workers should engage in social and political action that seeks to ensure that all people have equal access to the resources, employment, services, and opportunities they require to meet their basic human needs and to develop fully. Social workers should be aware of the impact of the political arena on practice and should advocate for changes in policy and legislation to improve social conditions in order to meet basic human needs and promote social justice.

(b) Social workers should act to expand choice and opportunity for all people, with special regard for vulnerable, disadvantaged, oppressed, and exploited people and groups.

(c) Social workers should promote conditions that encourage respect for cultural and social diversity within the United States and globally. Social workers should promote policies and practices that demonstrate respect for difference, support the expansion of cultural knowledge and resources, advocate for programs and institutions that demonstrate cultural competence, and promote policies that safeguard the rights of and confirm equity and social justice for all people.

(d) Social workers should act to prevent and eliminate domination of, exploitation of, and discrimination against any person, group, or class on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, marital status, political belief, religion, immigration status, or mental or physical disability.

Given that macro issues are filling headlines daily, don't be surprised to see macro questions drawn from section six of the code. If you've got this read and understood, you'll be ready. Good luck!

For more reading on the topic, there's no better place to turn than to the Code of Ethics itself. Enjoy it again.

The Code of Ethics - Informed Consent

Here's an essential piece of the NASW Code of Ethics, a favorite of exam writers--section 1.03, Informed Consent. In six quick paragraphs, lots of fodder for LCSW exam questions:

(a) Social workers should provide services to clients only in the context of a professional relationship based, when appropriate, on valid informed consent. Social workers should use clear and understandable language to inform clients of the purpose of the services, risks related to the services, limits to services because of the requirements of a third-party payer, relevant costs, reasonable alternatives, clients’ right to refuse or withdraw consent, and the time frame covered by the consent. Social workers should provide clients with an opportunity to ask questions.

(b) In instances when clients are not literate or have difficulty understanding the primary language used in the practice setting, social workers should take steps to ensure clients’ comprehension. This may include providing clients with a detailed verbal explanation or arranging for a qualified interpreter or translator whenever possible.

(c) In instances when clients lack the capacity to provide informed consent, social workers should protect clients’ interests by seeking permission from an appropriate third party, informing clients consistent with the clients’ level of understanding. In such instances social workers should seek to ensure that the third party acts in a manner consistent with clients’ wishes and interests. Social workers should take reasonable steps to enhance such clients’ ability to give informed consent.

(d) In instances when clients are receiving services involuntarily, social workers should provide information about the nature and extent of services and about the extent of clients’ right to refuse service.

(e) Social workers who provide services via electronic media (such as computer, telephone, radio, and television) should inform recipients of the limitations and risks associated with such services.

(f) Social workers should obtain clients’ informed consent before audiotaping or videotaping clients or permitting observation of services to clients by a third party.

Don't stop with reviewing this one section. Check out the entire Code of Ethics. It's a click away. 

The Code of Ethics - Core Values

Exam item writers live in the same world that you do and read the same headlines. Don't be too surprised to see items in future versions of the LCSW exam that pull from the conflicts that occupy your news and social media feeds today. One simple way to stay grounded in social work ethics as you approach these questions is to remember the six core values spelled out in the NASW Code of Ethics:

• service
• social justice
• dignity and worth of the person
• importance of human relationships
• integrity
• competence

They're right at the top of the Code of Ethics. Give the descriptions a careful read! http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/Code/code.asp They're not easy principles to live and work (and answer vignette questions) by...but definitely worth the effort. Good luck!

The Code of Ethics - Self-Determination

There's just no way to successfully make your way through the social work licensing exam without having a good working knowledge of the NASW Code of Ethics. This has been stressed on this blog before, but it bears repeating. Social work is too vast a subject to be covered in every respect by the exam. But this area--social work ethics and how to put them to use--is guaranteed to show up on the exam. With that in mind, let's take a look at an especially exam-friendly section of the code:

1.02 Self-Determination
Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients’ right to self-determination when, in the social workers’ professional judgment, clients’ actions or potential actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others.

For exam item writers, this may be a particularly alluring paragraph. Social workers are usually by nature caretakers, givers, helpers. But when is helping unhelpful or just plain unethical? Don't be surprised to find questions about close-call situations that put your caregiving instincts at odds with the principle of self-determination. A client chooses to live on the street...chooses addiction over recovery...chooses anything that may not ultimately be in their self-interest. Remember this part of the code and you'll know how to answer.

For further reading try this article from Social Work Today:

Study Resource: Eye on Ethics

Let's dig a little deeper into one of the free exam prep resources linked in the previous post. Frederic Reamer, PhD's Social Work Today column, "Eye on Ethics" looks at the kind of ethical dilemmas that social workers face every day. Those are the very same ethical quandaries you're likely to see posed as questions on the LCSW exam. Some "Eye on Ethics" columns include vignettes that are strikingly similar to those that appear on the exam. If exam writers are getting some inspiration from the colum, it wouldn't be a huge surprise. Take a look at some of these for starters--a semi-informed take on some of "Eye on Ethics" greatest hits:

• The Limits of Confidentiality 
• Managing Boundaries and Dual Relationships
• The Complexities of Client Privacy, Confidentiality, and Privileged Communication
• Parents' Access to Minors' Counseling Records: An Example of Evolving Standards 
• Boundaries Among Colleagues
• The Complexities of Informed Consent
• Terminating Services

Reading Reamer's column is a relatively painless way to soak up social work ethics and prepare for the licensing exam maybe without feeling like you're studying. Enjoy.

Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals

It can't be stressed enough how important familiarity with the NASW Code of Ethics can be for easing your way through the social work licensing exam. Yes, there are content questions on the exam that require you knowing specifics about theory, about diagnosis, etc. You can cram that information into your brain any which way you prefer. But the majority of exam questions require more subtlety and understanding of what it means to be a social worker. Scenario questions presenting situations that don't have an obvious solution can trip people up on the exam. For those, get prepared by giving the Code of Ethics a careful read, reread, and rereread.

Here, to encourage you in that, are section-by-section links to part four of the code, Social Workers' Ethical Responsibilities as Professionals. It's buried in the middle of the code's six sections--not first, not last, not least.

• 4.01 Competence
• 4.02 Discrimination
• 4.03 Private Conduct
• 4.04 Dishonesty, Fraud, and Deception
• 4.05 Impairment
• 4.06 Misrepresentation
• 4.07 Solicitations
• 4.08 Acknowledging Credit

As you browse through, see if you can think up potential exam items that each section lends itself to. If you're feeling really ambitious and generous, post them in comments!

Update: Code no longer hosted at msu.edu. Use the NASW version instead.

The Code of Ethics - Ethical Principles

Developing familiarity with the NASW Code of Ethics is a central part of preparing for the social work licensing exam. To help you along that path, here's something to focus on today: the six ethical principles delineated in the code. They are:

1. Service
2. Social Justice
3. Dignity and Worth of the Person
4. Importance of Human Relationships
5. Integrity
6. Competence

Links go to descriptions (courtesy of msu.edu). They're worth reviewing. As you wrestle with choosing between two answers on the exam (you can usually narrow down to a best two), you might think about these ethical principals. Which answer best reflects the Code of Ethics? That's going to be the one to mark.

For further review: The NASW Code of Ethics, and, perhaps, Social Work Values and Ethics.

The Code of Ethics

The majority of questions on the social work licensing exam aren't pulling for specific information about DSM diagnoses, developmental theories, and the like. They're vignettes that test for a core sense of social work values and ethics. How to prepare for those? The key reading is free, short, and just a click away: The NASW Code of Ethics. You've encountered it before, no doubt. As you're preparing for the exam, it's time to dig back in. It's worth rereading, word for word. And while you're doing that, you might pause with each section to imagine how the section might be tested for on the exam. Sometimes that will be obvious, sometimes less so.

Also valuable for preparing for ethics questions is Frederic Reamer's Eye on Ethics column from Social Work Today. Many of the dozens of columns contain their own vignette questions, exploring close-call situations that social workers often face. These closely resemble the very scenarios that you'll be asked to consider as you sit for the exam.