Showing papers on "Professional ethics published in 2014"

Addressing Value‐Based Conflicts Within the Counseling Relationship: A Decision‐Making Model

Abstract: A growing number of legal and ethical cases have involved value conflicts between counselors, or counselors-in-training, and their clients. The authors examine considerations that professional counselors are encouraged to take into account when value conflicts arise within the therapeutic relationship. The authors present a strategy known as ethical bracketing and the Counselor Values-Based Conflict Model as tools to use when facing conflicts that arise between personal and professional values.

Longitudinal study of stress, self-care, and professional identity among nursing students.

Abstract: This longitudinal study describes the factors associated with the acquisition of a professional identity over the course of prelicensure education among 45 baccalaureate nursing students. At every time point, personal spiritual growth practices and the students' perceptions of their caring abilities predicted sense of fit with the profession. Even as there is a growing emphasis of quality and safety education, caring and spirituality remain central to nurses' professional identities on entry to practice.

Teaching Ethical Decision Making: Helping Students Reconcile Personal and Professional Values

Abstract: The articles in this special section of the Journal of Counseling & Development, along with recent legal cases (e.g., Keeton v Anderson-Wiley, 2010; Ward v. Wilbanks, 2010), highlight the challenges professional counselors face when confronted with what they perceive as conflicts between professional codes of ethics and their own values. Although even the most experienced professionals find such situations difficult, the process of learning to make value-laden, ethical decisions is even more challenging for students. As a counselor educator, I see students struggle to let go of their needs for black/white, right/wrong answers and to reconcile their long-held beliefs with the standards set by the profession. In this article, I describe my approach to teaching ethical decision making and share observations about the process that one group of students went through as they learned to grapple with these challenges. * Learning Ethical Decision Making Becoming an ethical professional has been described as a developmental process (Neukrug, Lovell, & Parker, 1996) that involves movement from memorizing standards toward learning to integrate professional ethics with personal values (Handelsman, Gottlieb, & Knapp, 2005). To facilitate this movement, training programs need to help students develop the "philosophical sophistication" to reconcile personal and professional values (Mintz et al., 2009, p. 644). Similarly, Basche, Anderson, Handelsman, and Klevansky (2007) noted that students enter graduate programs with preexisting ideas of right and wrong professional behavior, based in large part on their own backgrounds. For students, learning to make ethical decisions is a developmental process of acculturating to the ethics of the profession and eventually integrating professional ethics with their own values and beliefs. Handelsman et al. (2005) adapted Berry's (2003) model of social or ethnic acculturation to describe four strategies (marginalization, separation, assimilation, and integration) that students use as they try to adapt to a new professional culture that may differ significantly from the values and beliefs of their cultures of origin. Each strategy reflects a high or low level of identification with the culture of origin and with the new professional culture. To illustrate how a counselor facing an ethical dilemma might use these acculturation strategies, consider a counselor faced with a 16-year-old client who is threatening to commit suicide and is pleading with the counselor not to tell her parents. Marginalization reflects low identification with both old (personal) and new (professional) cultures, without either a well-developed personal moral sense or a sense of professional ethics (Handelsman et al., 2005). A counselor using a marginalization strategy in this scenario would not be aware of personal values or beliefs about suicide, the parents' right to know, or an adolescent's ability to make such a decision. This person would also not have an understanding of the profession's stance on the ethical issues raised by the case, such as a counselor's responsibility to keep the client safe. A separation strategy (Handelsman et al., 2005) describes someone who has a well developed personal, moral sense but does not identify with the values of the profession. In this case, the counselor would be aware of his or her personal values or beliefs about suicide (e.g., suicide is a personal choice and people have a right to commit suicide), but would not be influenced by the profession's ethical stance (e.g., do no harm/keep clients safe). Decision making would be based only on personal beliefs about suicide. The assimilation strategy (Handelsman et al., 2005) reflects complete adoption of the new culture's values while discarding the values of the culture of origin. Thus, a counselor who entered the profession believing strongly in the right to commit suicide may decide to inform the client's parents about the suicide threat because the profession's code of ethics gives the counselor the responsibility to judge the seriousness of a threat and protect the client from serious and foreseeable harm. …

Teaching Ethically as a Moral Condition of Professionalism

Abstract: From Alan Tom’s initial identification of teaching as a moral craft (1984) to David Hansen’s exploration of the moral heart of teaching (2001); from Goodlad, Soder, and Sirotnik’s recognition of the moral dimensions of teaching (1990) to empirical studies that vividly reveal these dimensions (Jackson, Boostrom, & Hansen, 1993; Richardson & Fenstermacher, 2001), the academic and professional literature has increasingly illustrated how the moral aspects and complexities of K-12 teaching can be neither separated from the technical elements of instruction nor, worse, ignored as somehow extraneous to the central mission of education. Some connect these moral nuances, embedded in the daily life of classrooms and schools, to the professional role of the teacher and the ethical implications for professionalism more generally in teaching (Bergem, 1993; Campbell, 2003; Carr, 2000; Oser & Althof, 1993; Sockett, 1993; Strike & Soltis, 1992; Strike & Ternasky, 1993). Within a context that integrates consideration of the moral nature of teaching with applied professional ethics in teaching, this chapter explores the concept of teacher professionalism as being inseparable from what I define as the teacher’s ethical knowledge. This knowledge relates to both how teachers conduct themselves in morally appropriate ways and how they engage in moral education. Specifically, the chapter addresses two interrelated areas, presented within discrete sections. The first argues that ethical knowledge can provide the basis of a renewed professionalism in teaching. It defines ethical knowledge and discusses teaching as unique among the professions, not least because of its moral and ethical layers. It further distinguishes ethical knowledge from formalized codes and standards. The second section, which constitutes the dominant part of this chapter, explores ethical practice as a professional imperative. It offers examples of moral agency, which underlies ethical knowledge, as illustrated by the teacher’s actions as both a moral practitioner and a moral educator. Conversely, and contentiously, it further presents an argument against the co-opting of moral agency as a kind of politicized and ideological activism.

Contextualising professional ethics: the impact of the prison context on the practices and norms of health care practitioners.

Abstract: Health care is provided in many contexts—not just hospitals, clinics, and community health settings. Different institutional settings may significantly influence the design and delivery of health care and the ethical obligations and practices of health care practitioners working within them. This is particularly true in institutions that are established to constrain freedom, ensure security and authority, and restrict movement and choice. We describe the results of a qualitative study of the experiences of doctors and nurses working within two women’s prisons in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Their accounts make clear how the provision and ethics of health care may be compromised by the physical design of the prison, the institutional policies and practices restricting movement of prisoners and practitioners, the focus on maintaining control and security, and the very purpose of the prison and prison system itself. The results of this study make clear the impact that context has on professional practice and illustrate the importance of sociology and anthropology to bioethics and to the development of a more nuanced account of professional ethics.

Public Relations Ethics and Professionalism: The Shadow of Excellence

Abstract: Do professions really place duty to society above clients' or their own interests? If not, how can they be trusted? While some public relations (PR) scholars claim that PR serves society and enhances the democratic process, others suggest that it is little more than propaganda, serving the interests of global corporations. This is not an argument about definitions, but about ethics - yet this topic is barely explored in texts and theories that seek to explain PR and its function in society.This book places PR ethics in the wider context of professional ethics and the sociology of professions. By bringing together literature from fields beyond public relations - sociology, professional and philosophical ethics, and Jungian psychology - it integrates a new body of ideas into the debate. The unprecedented introduction of Jungian psychology to public relations scholarship shifts the debate beyond a traditional Western 'Good/Bad' ethical dichotomy towards a new holistic approach, with dynamic implications for theory and practice.This thought-provoking book will be essential reading for students, academics and professionals with an interest in public relations, ethics and professionalism.

Information Management in Aged Care: Cases of Confidentiality and Elder Abuse.

Abstract: Typically seniors like others choose to avoid institutional care However, when age-related infirmity requires it, they not only enter into the care of others, but they also do so as vulnerable members of society As their frailty increases with age, so does their dependence on the professionals who care for them and on the enforcement of policies concerning their care A qualitative case study involving seniors and their carers revealed that breaches of confidentiality, unprofessional behaviour and the non-enforcement of policy, continue to hide the physical and emotional abuse perpetrated by nursing and other staff on vulnerable consumers Professional ethics, including at a corporate level, enforcing policy, protecting whistleblowers and creating reporting mechanisms for aged care researchers, are amongst the recommendations arising from this study

Moral Boundaries Redrawn: The Significance of Joan Tronto's Argument for Political Theory, Professional Ethics, and Care as Practice

Abstract: Joan Tronto's Moral Boundaries. A political Argument for an Ethic of Care (1993) is one of the most influential works in the short history of the ethics of care. In her book Tronto rethinks 'care' as one of the central activities of human life and explains that it is shaped through politics. Since it is two decades ago that Moral Boundaries was published it seems more than worthwhile to take stock of its significance. This volume does so. It attempts to redraw the moral boundaries Tronto discusses and explores the impact and meaning of her thinking for care ethics as a developing discipline. This volume celebrates the anniversary of a book. Our 'author of honour' is Joan Tronto herself. The contributions of the other authors concentrate on three domains: political theory, professional ethics and the understanding of care as practice.

Navigating Social Networking and Social Media in School Psychology: Ethical and Professional Considerations in Training Programs.

Abstract: Social networking and social media have undoubtedly proliferated within the past decade, allowing widespread communication and dissemination of user-generated content and information. Some psychology graduate programs, including school psychology, have started to embrace social networking and media for instructional and training purposes; however, there have not been any consistent ethical guidelines or standards among training programs relating to how trainers, graduate students, and practitioners should use social networking and social media professionally. This article draws on the current yet limited research on social networking and social media, and addresses the ethical challenges when managing both professional and personal online identities in school psychology. Two relevant case scenarios are discussed, along with suggested guidelines for developing technological policies for school psychologists. Future directions in research and practical implications for trainers, graduate students, and practitioners are explored.

The standards of professionalism in nursing: the nursing instructors’ experiences

Abstract: Background: The increasing need and demand for professional nurses and enhance the quality of professional services is a key issue that has led to professional practice in health systems. Aim: The aim of this study was to explore the standards of nursing professionalism based on faculties' points of view. Methods: Qualitative design in this study was content analysis with purposive sampling. Data were derived from 28 instructors of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences who had over 3 years of work experience and they desired to participate in the study. Data collection was conducted three FGD and 12 individual interviews. The data were analyzed based on steps of conventional content analysis. Results: Data analysis resulted in development offour major themes and eight sub-themes. The main themes included promoting empowerment, ethics and professional commitment, resources and structure, and correction of social status. Sub-themes included individual abilities and professionalism, human values and professional ethics, educational and organizational structure and resources as well as internal and external factors. Conclusion: Attention to education and continuous evaluation of nursing skills and knowledge, position of nursing in health care system and social status of nursing have essential roles in the empowering and enhancing of nursing professionalism.

Anorexia nervosa: the diagnosis. A postmodern ethics contribution to the bioethics debate on involuntary treatment for anorexia nervosa.

Abstract: This paper argues that there is a relationship between understandings of anorexia nervosa (AN) and how the ethical issues associated with involuntary treatment for AN are identified, framed, and addressed. By positioning AN as a construct/discourse (hereinafter “AN: the diagnosis”) several ethical issues are revealed. Firstly, “AN: the diagnosis” influences how the autonomy and competence of persons diagnosed with AN are understood by decision-makers in the treatment environment. Secondly, “AN: the diagnosis” impacts on how treatment and treatment efficacy are defined and the ethical justifiability of paternalism. Thirdly, “AN: the diagnosis” can limit the opportunity for persons with AN to construct an identity that casts them as a competent person. “AN: the diagnosis” can thus inherently affirm professional knowledge and values. Postmodern professional ethics can support professionals in managing these issues by highlighting the importance of taking responsibility for professional knowledge, values, and power and embracing moral uncertainty.

Preparing Trainees for Lifelong Competence: Creating a Communitarian Training Culture

Abstract: Professional psychology training programs exert a powerful influence on the ways in which trainees come to appreciate and respond to the ethical mandate to ensure their own professional competence. If training psychologists overemphasize individualistic conceptions of lifelong competence, then trainees may be at risk for professional isolation if and when they experience problems of professional competence. In this article, we describe the virtues of communitarianism as an important shift from individual to community conceptions of competence obligations. We introduce the Communitarian Training Culture (CTC), a training ethos that embraces and supports the evolving culture of competence in psychology while infusing it with a distinctly interdependent and communal character. We describe the contours of an effective CTC and provide specific recommendations for psychology training leaders interested in enhancing the communitarian character of their program.

“I take an oath to the state, not the government”: Career Trajectories and Professional Ethics of Ghanaian Public Servants

Abstract: This chapter explores normative statements and narratives that feature role models or castigate discrimination and patronage. It argues that these ideals and stories create moral boundaries and support an 'esprit de corps' of dedicated public servants. The chapter discusses how such particularist identities are mobilised in the construction of a universalist ethos of public service. It gives an overview of the educational background of the public servants. The chapter discusses their experiences and views with respect to two major themes: firstly, the motivation to join the public service and the factors they identify as determining their own and other public servants' career trajectories; secondly, their ideas about the state, their own role and their professional ethics. Finally, it looks at the ideological and social resources that they mobilise in their quest for a dignified professional life. Keywords: career trajectories; patronage; professional ethics; public servants; social resources

Professional Ethics in a Postmodern Society

Abstract: The ethical values that guide the public, private, and nonprofit sectors have traditionally been seen as distinct from one another as well as from the values that guide personal relationships. However, recent trends in the economy and employment are blurring these distinctions. This commentary discusses these trends, contending that what is emerging is a new postmodern world of work. It is marked by a blurring of public and private lives as well as an increasingly fine line separating the three economic sectors. As a result, the ethical rules that apply to different facets of life and work are being challenged, necessitating a rethinking of the moral boundaries and rules governing professional behavior.

Ethics and Lean Management – a paradox?

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to research the practice of ethics in Swedish health care organizations using Lean Management. Design/methodology/approach – A qualitative study was conducted. Findings – Findings indicate that ethics is not a consideration when hospitals are implementing Lean Management. Social implications – Organizations generally have diverse value systems when building their codes of professional ethics for examining ethical principles, whereas Lean Management has established base principles with different codes of professional ethics differing from the intrinsic values humans create according to moral philosophy. It could be said that Lean Management relies on minimalistic ethic. While hospitals implement Lean Management, there are still many barriers to resolve to achieve useful implementation. Managing change while emphasizing ethical values could be a success factor for those organizations and their customers. Originality/value – Studying ethical values in Lean Management im...

What is professional ethics

Abstract: The very term ‘professional ethics’ is puzzling with respect to what both ‘professional’ and ‘ethics’ might mean. I argue (1) that professionalism is ambiguous as to whether or not it is implicitly committed to ethical practice; (2) that to be ‘professionally’ ethical is at best ambiguous, if not in fact bizarre; and (3) that, taken together, these considerations suggest that professional ethics is something to be avoided rather than lauded.

Ethics Education in Professional Psychology: A Survey of American Psychological Association Accredited Programs

Abstract: Professional psychologists are expected to know ethical standards and engage in proactive analysis of ethical considerations across professional roles (e.g., practice, research, teaching). Yet, little is known about the current state of doctoral ethics education in professional psychology, including the content covered and pedagogical strategies used to ensure developing this core component of professional competency (de las Fuentes, Willmuth, & Yarrow, 2005). A survey of ethics educators from APA-accredited programs across the United States and Canada resulted in 136 instructors reporting on their program’s ethics training. The majority of questionnaires returned were from Ph.D. programs (77.9%). A substantial number of programs were clinical (59.6%) and followed a scientist practitioner training model (69.9%). The response rate across specialties ranged from 34.5 % to 41.4%. Nearly all (95.6%) reported having a required ethics course. Lectures (95.6%) were the most common teaching method reported. Fully 100% of ethics educators reported teaching about mandated reporting and informed consent to treatment. An overwhelming majority (90% and above) covered the same 11 other topics, showing notable convergence in content. The most commonly used document across programs (99.3%) was the Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct (APA, 2010). The most common type of assignment was reading (94.1%), and the most common teaching practice was “teaching by example” (90.4%). Finally the most endorsed teaching goal was advancement of critical thinking (94.9%). Implications for ethics education and future research directions are described.

The risks and responsible roles for psychiatrists who interact with the media.

Abstract: Journalists often turn to psychiatrists for analysis of medical, social, political, and cultural events that involve human behavior and illness. Once journalists seek their expertise, psychiatrists often rush to be helpful, which can lead to ineffective performance and to statements that may run afoul of principles of professional ethics. In this article, we discuss the bases on which the professionalism of psychiatrists may be impugned when they commit errors in their media presentations. Found within the Principles of Medical Ethics with Special Annotations Especially Applicable to Psychiatry, the Goldwater Rule prohibits certain behaviors when psychiatrists share professional opinions with the public. We first discuss the Goldwater Rule, highlighting the events that led to its development and the professional response to its enactment. We then present a method to guide psychiatrists in their interaction with the media that will help them avoid violating ethics principles or the law. The method encourages knowledge of a framework of ethics principles that in turn guide the psychiatrist's behavior and thinking as he contemplates accepting invitations to interact with the media. The ethics-based roles include the Teacher, the Storyteller, the Celebrity Commentator, the Hollywood Consultant, the Clinician, and the Advertiser.

Transatlantic Divergences in Citizen Science Ethics—Comparative Analysis of the DIYbio Code of Ethics Drafts of 2011

Abstract: Codes of ethics were drafted by participants in the European and North American Congresses of DIYbio, a single global organization of informal biotechnology practitioners, in 2011. In general, the existence of a code of ethics amongst a community is itself significant. Codes of professional ethics are common in scientific and engineering fields, as well as in DIY communities. It is also significant, and highly unusual, that DIYbio has maintained two separate codes of ethics years after their drafting. While agreement was reached within the congress for each geographic region, with considerable commonality between the two codes drafted, they are far from identical. There are differences in the ordering of items, the wording of common items, and the presence/absence of items. I will argue that these differences are meaningful, and consider them with respect to cultural variation, ethics, and societal implications. Finally, I recommend that the entire DIYbio organization unite under a single code of ethics, and that one of the existing drafts is superior to the other for this purpose.

Ethics of Educational Technology

Abstract: While ethics has been an under-researched area in educational technology, it is receiving current recognition as a critical focus for inquiry and development. In this chapter, we review the contribution of ethics as part of the history of professionalization of the field, the development of a code of ethics for the profession, and contemporary ethics issues like cultural competence, intellectual property, accessibility and universal design, critical theory in educational technology, system ethics, and social responsibility of professionals. In addition, this chapter presents major theoretical and philosophical models for ethics that pertain specifically to technology in educational systems along with implications of research from other fields exploring the integration of ethics into policy, standards, and higher education curricula. Existing research on ethics in educational technology programs suggests a very low level of integration in such domains at present; findings from a survey of the curricular landscape and implications for future research and development are discussed along with consideration of ethics as a foundational component not only to professional standards, practices, and leadership, but also to education policy, as we highlight the role of faculty and graduate programs, practicing professionals, and scholarly associations in shaping future directions and research in this emerging domain.

The Potential Conflict Between Policy and Ethics in Caring for Undocumented Immigrants at Academic Health Centers

Abstract: Academic health centers (AHCs) are at the forefront of delivering care to the diverse medically underserved and uninsured populations in the United States, as well as training the majority of the health care workforce, who are professionally obligated to serve all patients regardless of race or immigration status. Despite AHCs' central leadership role in these endeavors, few consolidated efforts have emerged to resolve potential conflicts between national, state, and local policies that exclude certain classifications of immigrants from receiving federal public assistance and health professionals' social missions and ethical oath to serve humanity. For instance, whereas the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act provides a pathway to insurance coverage for more than 30 million Americans, undocumented immigrants and legally documented immigrants residing in the United States for less than five years are ineligible for Medicaid and excluded from purchasing any type of coverage through state exchanges. To inform this debate, the authors describe their experience at the University of New Mexico Hospital (UNMH) and discuss how the UNMH has responded to this challenge and overcome barriers. They offer three recommendations for aligning AHCs' social missions and professional ethics with organizational policies: (1) that AHCs determine eligibility for financial assistance based on residency rather than citizenship, (2) that models of medical education and health professions training provide students with service-learning opportunities and applied community experience, and (3) that frontline staff and health care professionals receive standardized training on eligibility policies to minimize discrimination towards immigrant patients.

Utilizing codes of ethics in health professions education.

Abstract: Codes of ethics abound in health care, the aims and purposes of which are multiple and varied, from operating as a decision making tool to acting as a standard of practice that can be operational in a legal context to providing a sense of elevated seriousness and professionalism within a field of practice. There is some doubt and controversy, however, regarding the value and use of these codes both in professional practice and in the education of healthcare professionals. I intend to review and analyze the various aims and purposes of ethics codes particularly within the study and practice of healthcare in light of various criticisms of codes of ethics. After weighing the strength and import of these criticisms, I plan to explore effective means for utilizing such codes as part of the ethics education of healthcare professionals. While noting significant limitations of this tool, both in practice and in education, I plan to demonstrate its potential usefulness as well, in both generating critical thinking within the study of ethics and as a guide for practice for the professional.

Proximating ethics: Perceptions of the engineering profession and implications for learning

Abstract: Background: Ethics is identified by the engineering profession as a core knowledge attribute, both at the level of the graduate and the professional engineer. Consequently expectations around ethics feature prominently in the graduate attributes of the international accords, in the accreditation assessments, and in the competence criteria for admission to professional membership. Nonetheless the teaching of ethics presents particular difficulties to engineering teaching institutions. One of the primary difficulties is the didactic challenge: how to contextualise the profession's relatively rule-based approach to formulating ethics, into constructs that are memorable and internalised by students. Purpose: The purpose of this work was to explore what practising engineers perceived about ethics, and then use that to inform curriculum design. Design/Method: The approach was to survey the whole New Zealand population of professional engineers, namely those who were members of the Institution of Professional Engineers NZ (IPENZ). The number of responses received was 2276, representing a 38% return. The survey data were analysed with ANOVA to extract statistical insights. Results: Empirical data from practising engineers shows ethics is one of the most important of the soft-skill graduate attributes. Engineers with higher qualifications show greater appreciation for ethics, as do chartered professional engineers, those with more senior grades of membership, and those with more work experience. The importance of ethics has been shown to vary, sometimes significantly, between different work areas. Manufacturing and Production engineers have the lowest appreciation though this may be because they contextualise it in other more applied ways that are more relevant to them. Conclusions: While the existing discourse in the literature is focussed on how universities teach ethics, the present work identifies that learning ethics must be a partnership between the university and the industry employer, and integrated into ongoing professional development. If anything, the latter partner needs to be doing more. Engineers who are professional educators perceive ethics much more importantly than any other field of engineering. This shows that the education sector is highly appreciative of this topic, and disproves the notion that universities are insensitive to the need to teach professional ethics. In addition the data show that graduates are reasonably well-prepared regarding ethics, at least in the sense of showing an appreciation for the importance thereof, at the point of entry to the profession. However engineers up to 6 years into their career show decreasing appreciation of ethics. This is interpreted as employers of graduate engineers needing to do more to explicitly contextualise ethics for the specific employment situation. The possible curriculum contents for an ethics course have been identified, and suggestions made for how to improve student engagement.