Ethical DilemaEssay Preview: Ethical DilemaReport this essayEthical DilemmaEthics is the values and customs of a person or group and covers the analysis and employment of concepts such as right and wrong. The choices we decide are not always going to be easy to make, and when were faced to choose between equally unsatisfactory alternatives this is called ethical dilemmas. How can such dilemmas be handled? Well, if and when this situation arises, it would be helpful to ask yourself three questions. 1) Is it legal, 2) Is it balanced, and 3) How would it make me feel about myself. In this paper I will be applying the ethical dilemma questions to a situation and will be search for alternative ways in which things can be handled.
Dilemma:You are a social worker working in an outpatient mental health clinic. A young, junior enlisted woman comes to your office stating she is agitated, angry, and scared. She is the mother of two small children, ages 3 years and 7 months, and the spouse of a non-active-duty member. She is a member of a unit scheduled to deploy on a six-month tour of duty in three weeks. She holds a high-level security clearance. She tells you that her husband abandoned her last week and there is nobody available to watch her children during her six-month absence. Her Personal Readiness Plan has not been modified to reflect the husbands abandonment.
While in the military for only several years, she has an excellent military record and plans on making the military a career. She wants to talk with somebody about the situation and has come to you for help and guidance. She does not want to turn to her family for help because they disapprove of her inter-racial marriage. She is not sure what you can do for her, but feels desperate. She states that with your help she can resolve the issue herself. She is looking forward to the upcoming mission and does not want to be left behind. Finally, she asks you not to tell her unit, because she is afraid it will hurt her career. She says her commanding officer is not flexible and will be angry with her.
You are faced with the dilemma of honoring her request for privacy and confidentiality or reporting the situation to her unit. Again, you are faced with conflicting moral choices: mission or client? In addition, because you have not worked with this unit before, you do not know how the unit commander will handle the issue. Therefore, this magnifies your dilemma because you must choose the best moral course of action without knowing in advance the outcome of the decision for your client.
In order to solve this dilemma, the officer should ask these questions.Is this legal? (Does it violate company policy?)Is it balanced? (Will my decision be win-win or win-lose?)How would I feel about myself? (Will I feel good about the decision?) (Nickels, 2006)The right to privacy and confidentiality are hallmark social work values. Ethical standard 1.07 (a) (NASW Code of Ethics) notes that social workers should respect clients right to privacy and ethical standard 1.07 (b) (NASW Code of Ethics) notes that social workers should protect the confidentiality of all information obtained in the course of professional service, except for compelling professional reasons. Ethical standard 1.07 (c) notes that a social worker may breach confidentiality when disclosure is necessary to prevent serious, foreseeable, and imminent
Social support is intended to be able to care for patients in a situation when health care provider or practitioner can provide significant help in the management, care, or provision of their needs to the patient or provide their own hospital. Ethical standard 1.07 (d)(NASW Code of Ethics) provides that social workers is not limited to those who have been able to provide health care to any patient within the meaning of the [19 U.S.C. sec. 1796 et seq.]
There may also be patients without medical needs who are seeking the services of social workers, and the social worker may inform them of the services available. Ethical standard 1.07 (e)(NASW Code of Ethics) provides: “(1) The appropriate use of social workers’ services. “(2) The use of social workers’ services in other contexts; and “(3) The appropriate use of a social worker’s services on behalf of a patient. “(4) The availability and the nature of the services provided. “(5) The need for social workers to protect personal information from disclosure. “(6) The need for social workers to report the need for social workers’ services. “(7) The requirement that social workers make all efforts reasonably practicable to assist patients and their representatives; “(8) The need for social workers to protect personal information from unauthorized disclosure, such as those in a case brought by any person or group to which social workers may disclose personal information; ‘(9) A system to comply with the terms of trust provisions of section 10.1.10, the Terms of Service Act, or other applicable law, and to respond to changes described in regulations promulgated by the Department. “(10) A process where social workers are provided with an opportunity to communicate with or participate in the performance of their duties to others in a timely manner; “(11) The ability to communicate with another team member when required to. “(Sec. 10.3) The scope of social worker service that a social worker may administer is limited to: “(A) Social workers or representatives of social workers; “(B) Individuals or organizations designated as social workers and not entitled to such services; “(C) Members of the public who are involved in management and/or public relations work, such as in the care and conduct of registered mental health professionals; “(D) Registered vocational or medical practitioners or professional associations; “(E) Social workers with whom a social worker works or who are associated in law enforcement; “(F) Employers, institutions, organizations that conduct business in accordance with the regulations of the Department; “(G) Individuals and corporations of unions and other recognized political entities that provide services in social work contexts; “(H) Human resources workers engaged in social network or non-traditional human resources work under law or in equity efforts; “(I) Social workers that are or have become workers of the health care provider or care provider for which they are hired; “(J) Employees of social workers with rights and responsibilities that are not related to the employment relationship or service provided by the social workers; “(K) Employees who meet the needs of these employees within the meaning of subparagraph (A); and “(L) Any other human