Engaging the Past to Energize the Future: Importance of Ethics in Professional Development and Clinical Practice

Practicing with values and ethics has been at the foundation of Social Work education since the beginning of the profession as well as since the inception of the healthcare profession. There are multiple Ethical Dilemma that present to Social Work professionals due to the changing societal landscape (threats to gender affirming care, gender equity, racial justice and women's rights). There are many ethical challenges to our clinical practice and research that are rapidly evolving with evolving technology, legal changes and expanding scope of practices such as telehealth, increasing accessibility of genetic testing, use of data and artificial intelligence. There are complex moral dilemmas involving such issues as the limits of clients' confidentiality, right to self-determination, power differentials and injustices due to professional roles in agencies, informed consent, boundaries, professional paternalism, conflicts of interest, whistle-blowing, administrative and organizational ethics, civil disobedience, moral distress, conscientious objection and distributive justice. The class will discuss current relevant ethical dilemmas interwoven with clinical case studies, films, clips from the current news/literature and class discussions.