Understanding the true meaning of the codes of ethics

posted in: Uncategorized | 10

When I used ChatGBT 3.5, it gave me a lot of good information about the codes of ethics like I learned that the concept of ethics serves as a moral compass, guiding the individuals, and organizations towards the principles of the right and wrong conduct. As for the heart of ethical practices, it lies on the code of ethics, a set of principles, and standards that delineate the values, responsibilities, and expectations for the ones with a particular profession. While the codes of ethics vary across professions, they share a common purpose which is to uphold integrity, promote accountability, and safeguard the well-being of clients, colleagues, and the broader community. A code of ethics serves as a foundational document that outlines the ethical standards and expectations for professionals with a specific field. Whether if its in medicine, law, business, or social work, the codes of ethics brings up the core values, principles, and professional responsibilities that individuals expected to uphold in their practice. These codes are often developed and maintained by professional associations or regulatory bodies within each field and serve as a framework for ethical decision making and behavior.

There are a lot of core principles and values when it comes to code of ethics and at the heart of every code of ethics are core principles and values that underpin ethical practice. These principles typically include concepts and one of the concepts are integrity which is upholding honesty, transparency, and moral uprightness in all professional interactions. Another concept for these principles is respect which is valuing the dignity, autonomy, and rights of all individuals. Another concept for these principles is beneficence which is an acting in the best interests of clients striving to promote their well-being and mitigate harm. Another concept for these principles is nonmaleficence which helps avoid harm and refrain from actions that may cause injury, suffering, or detriment to others. Last but not least another concept for these principles is justice and it ensures fairness, equity, and impartiality in the distribution of resources and opportunities. All of these principles provide a framework for ethical decision-making and guide professionals in navigating complex ethical dilemmas and situations that arise in their practice.

There are ethical responsibilities and obligations like codes of ethics outlines the specific responsibilities and obligations of the professionals have towards their clients, colleagues, organization, and society at large. These responsibilities include maintaining confidentiality and the amount of respect towards the privacy of our clients, providing competent and culturally sensitive care or services, avoiding conflicts of the kind of interests and disclosing the potential conflicts when they arise, engaging in ongoing professional development and self-reflection to enhance the competence and effectiveness, and advocating for social justice, equal rights, human rights, specifically for marginalized and vulnerable populations out there. By going through these responsibilities, codes of ethics set clear expectations for professional conduct and to help ensure that practitioners reach out to high standards of practice and accountability.

So basically the true meaning of a code of ethics lies in its role as a guiding framework for the amount of ethical practices like codes of ethics define the ethical responsibilities and obligations of professionals within a given field and provide a map for the amount of ethical decision making by upholding integrity, promoting accountability, and safeguarding the well being of all stakeholders as if codes of ethics serve as a cornerstone of ethical practice, fostering trust, professionalism, and excellence in every profession that it has. When I used ChatGBT 3.5 for the code of ethics, it gave me a lot of good information and helped me understand every single part of it to understand the code of ethics and I like how its completely detailed about the information and using it for any kind of information is so worth it just because of how it does a good job explaining everything in detail and help you understand more about something your looking at.

10 Responses

  1. Sharla Huckabey

    Jackson,
    I like how you explained the Code of Ethics and enjoyed reading your blog.
    The Code of Ethics is vital to many organizations, businesses, and people. If everyone followed it for daily living, this world would be in a better place.

    • Elizabeth Jackson

      I agree with you that organizations should prioritize the code of ethics. I am going into the counseling M.Ed program next semester, and that is something I think about a lot and. People attending therapy should feel that they are in an environment that is safe, trustworthy, and empowering.

  2. Josh Fine

    Hi Jackson,

    I enjoyed reading your take on ethics and can appreciate your use of AI. I feel that you explained the code in a concise and easy-to-understand manner. I believe that ethical practice indispensable in this field, as well as others. Reading the code, I find that the value of integrity jumps out to me specifically. I feel that having integrity i skey to interacting with other people, especially those from a vulnerable population. Is there a core value that stands out to you specifically?

  3. Annalee White

    Hi Jackson! First of all, thank you for your presentation/blog. I think the topic of ethics is always a little daunting because everyone’s ethics and moral compasses are different. And while I feel as a whole everyone has the same baseline for some of life’s greatest topics, it is really all the little dilemmas in life that define who we are as people. But with the information you provided and what we can find through research of our won, it is always nice to have a framework for how we go about these dilemmas (both big and small!).

  4. Neveah Reese

    You did a great job here explaining why professions have a code of ethics. Like you mentioned, there are several professions that use code of ethics to maintain professionalism, trusts, and ethical practices between clients and other co-workers. One things that I like about a code of ethics is its use as a tool when ethical dilemmas occur. You can use the guidelines, values, and principles to help you make the most ethical decision. This is why knowing the values relevant to your field of work is helpful.

    Do you have any experience using code of ethics? Or have any that you read about that seemed important? What about lacked importance? Code of ethics certainly is a crucial piece to social work, as we are here to uplift diverse groups of individuals through trusts, integrity, patience, and understanding. Without guidelines for those difficult situations, we may loose the relationships we build with clients.

  5. John Da Broi

    Jackson,
    I like how you gave a well-known definition of the code of ethics. Because that is the standard for most but people do deviate from the standard with ethics that sometimes others would not agree with.

  6. Ian Miller

    Hey Jackson. I freaking love ethical analysis of our work. I was in a wellness group at my job the other day and we had a whopper of a situation, and in reading your post I feel that I am obligated to present the ethical dilemma that we discussed in our group.

    Situation: an infant, 18 months old, passed away due to negligence by both parents. Parent one has been charged by law enforcement and will face many years of prison. Parent two will not face any charges whatsoever. The issue is that parent two and one are separated, and parent two placed their shared child in the care of parent one knowing that parent one had a years long addiction issue. The issue we discussed in my wellness group is what is the right thing to do regarding parent two. Should parent two be charged for negligent manslaughter/homicide? The ethical conversation was very dynamic, considering all angles of meeting each client where they are at and what is in the best interest for all people involved.

    Our values come into question every single day and we have to be able to see perspectives outside of our own when analyzing what is best for the greatest number of people. We can get tunnel vision in the work we do, we can put too much emphasis on justice or family or retribution or many other viewpoints. But having a strong understanding of the limits of our own values is just as important for what is truly important to us. I personally have a strong sense of family when it comes to the situation the we were discussing, and in my mind I was looking through a lens of what was in the best interest for the child in the long run. Parent one will be facing a judicial decision hard enough to ripple that child’s life forever. Parent two faces moral and familial consequences for the rest of their life as well. Is that enough though?

  7. Mollie Bernhoft

    I enjoyed reading your post and thought it was very informative. The code of ethics is crucial in settings standards for behavior and decision making within professions, and as you mentioned above maintains consistency in professionalism, trust, and ethical practices between clients and colleagues. At the same time, it promotes integrity and accountability in professional practice. It is especially important in fields like Social Work, where it serves as compass for ethical decision-making, guiding social workers through challenging situations and decision making. Everyone is different, and we all have different morales, beliefs, and values that are reflected in our decision making, the code replaces that and gives everyone the same framework and standards to adhere to.

  8. Bell Voseberg

    Hi! I think AI can be beneficial, too. I like using the AI for Bing because it pulls up sources for me to look at and even helps me cite them in text and on my cited works page. I use it mainly for a more precise search engine. I haven’t learned much about the code of ethics except for basic HIPPA policy, mandated reports, and ROI/ Guardianship paperwork. It can get confusing sometimes, but I enjoyed learning more about the code of ethics from your blog! Thank you!

  9. Jillian Bowman

    Hi Jackson, I really love the way you laid your blog out. The Code of Ethics are so important, especially in our occupation, but there are times I look at them and have to ponder on how it was necessary to put them in writing when majority of them just seem like the decent human response. I think the setting clear expectations part is very important so that they can be relied on should a stick situation ever arise. Thanks for the read!