Video A: Boundaries
This video was about boundaries and the importance of why social workers need to establish them. This video was related to the social work values of integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact.
Integrity: Integrity is an important social worker value that is directly related to this video. Social workers should act honestly and responsibly and are supposed to act in ways consistent with ethical practice. This video helped clarify the boundaries that social workers need to keep when working with clients.
Conflicts of interest: It is very clearly spelled out in the NASW Code of Ethics that social workers should not exploit others or take advantage of any relationship that they have with clients.
Physical contact: As a social worker you should not engage in any physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact. According to the Code of Ethics, "Social workers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact."
As I watched the video, I thought about how social workers have to be very careful not to violate any boundaries, and that crossing them can lead to dilemmas.
I agree that it is very important for social workers to observe boundaries, as they can harm a client or person who is in their care and looking to them for help.
I have a very clear understanding of setting boundaries as a social worker and the different types there are as a result of watching this video. I also understand the difference between crossing a boundary and violating it.
Throughout the readings, boundaries have been mentioned numerous times. The video was very helpful connecting these concepts and discussing how boundaries can be crossed or violated by a therapist or the client.
I wanted to know some examples of boundary violations versus boundary crossings, which this video did discuss.
The video did explain that boundary crossing are often okay as they are ethical or may even be clinically effective. Boundary violations on the other hand are not okay as they will do harm, are an abuse of power, and exploit the client.
Although the video was not presented in a very enthusiastic or interesting way, Dr. Zur did provide valuable information. I can apply this information to my everyday life and interactions with other people. I know that I need to maintain appropriate boundaries with people that I work with, go to school with, and meet in any setting. It was helpful to be reminded about maintaining healthy boundaries in all relationships in my life.
Video B: Informed Consent
This video provided an explanation about what informed consent is and why it is important for the healthcare provider as well as the patient or client to consider. This video is related to the themes of informed consent, clients who lack decision-making capacity, and evaluation and research.
Informed Consent: The social worker is providing services to the client as a professional and therefore must obtain informed consent from the client. Clients need to understand what they are agreeing to, so social workers need to do whatever is needed to ensure that their clients comprehend what they are agreeing to as well and that they can ask the social worker questions. Social workers also need to let their clients know that they can refuse services whenever they want.
Clients Who Lack Decision-making Capacity: Social workers need to act on behalf of those clients whom are not capable of making their own decisions, which includes helping them understand what it is that they are consenting to.
Evaluation and Research: As part of research and evaluation, a social worker should obtain written informed consent from any participants. Informed consent in research has specific items that must be disclosed to the client ahead of time such as any risks and benefits to participating as well as what the research is being used for and how long they are required to participate. As I watched the video, I thought about how intimidating a healthcare professional or social worker could be giving a patient or client a long consent form to sign. I thought about how important it is for social workers to explain manners in a way so that their clients can understand their expectations and feel safe to ask questions.
I agree that informed consent is important for both the client and the social worker. As the client, you would want to understand what you are agreeing to and what to expect from the interactions with the social worker. As the social worker, you would want to make sure that you gave the client a chance to ask questions and understand what is happening.
I understand that healthcare providers use informed consent and the concept applies to social work as well as medicine. Just like in medicine, social workers need to receive consent from their clients so that clients will participate in and engage in activities that will be beneficial for them. Informed consent gives clients a chance to ask questions and clarify manners with a social worker before the social worker begins working with them.
The textbook discusses that informed consent must be obtained from clients before social workers begin working with them. Informed consent also protects the client and social worker by allowing both to discuss the expectations that they have for each other.
I do think that I understood the concept of informed consent before I watched the video, as it has been explained throughout various social work classes that I have had in the past.
I learned that informed consent protects both the client and the social worker and that when I am a social worker, I need to always obtain a client’s consent before I begin to speak professionally with them. I also learned that I could be accused of assault or neglect if I do not obtain a client’s informed consent.
This video about informed consent was short and “to the point”. By seeing the process of obtaining informed consent in the video, I believe that it reinforced what I have read and heard about in class. I also believe that it is important to let others ask questions in order to clarify manners and will furthermore allow others to do so when they are speaking with me.
Video C: Family Counseling
This video about family counseling discussed the themes of autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. These themes are a part of Kitchener's model of ethical decision-making.
Autonomy is important for clients as it is the promotion of self-determinism. The client has the freedom or choice of engaging with the social worker and discussing what he or she wants to discuss.
Beneficence is mentioned many times in the textbook and is an important concept in social work practice. Beneficence is about promoting good for others. A social worker should want to do good for the client by doing what is in his or her best interest.
Social justice is a core value of social work. It refers to providing equal treatment to all people.
As I watched the video, I thought about how a social worker might conduct a family counseling session. I thought about how I might handle conflicts in a session as they arose between family members.
I agree that it is important for a social worker to understand how to handle conflict, and that having a model like Kitchener's may be a very helpful approach to resolving conflict.
As I watched the video, I learned that my job as a social worker doing family counseling is to promote the welfare and well-being of the family members as well as the family unit as a whole.
The video promoted using Kitchener's model of ethical decision making for conflicts between individual family members and the family unit. It also explained that there is a difference between values and ethics. The textbook explains various ethical issues that occur when doing group work.
I wanted to know how a social worker might handle conflict when working with more than one client at a time.
I learned that it is helpful to use ethical models such as Kitchener's. These models are available to help guide social workers through the process of resolving conflicts or making ethical decisions in a variety of settings.
I found this video difficult to watch. It seemed that the woman was just reading off a script; I would have preferred to have had slides with illustration s. I was able to listen to the video and pick out important concepts that I believe will be helpful in resolving conflicts in my own personal life. Having a model to follow in resolving conflict will be helpful when I am dealing with conflicts with my family as well as my school and work interactions. All people disagree at some point, and this model will be helpful in reminding me of some steps I can take to help resolve the situation in a calm and effective manner.
Video D: Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince
This video was about a doctor and a patient whom were having issues communicating with each other. This video related to the theme of importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Importance of human relationships: This ethical principle states, "Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships" Social workers work to strengthen relationships between people in an effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals and families.” In the video, the doctor is not displaying this value, as she continues to joke about Mr. Prince's decision of no longer continuing his chemotherapy.
Dignity and worth of a person: This ethical principle states, "Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person." Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Dr. Cure-All does not demonstrate this value as she tries to manipulate her patient into making a decision that he does not agree with.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: According to the Code of Ethics, social workers are often members of interdisciplinary teams who work together and should "participate in and contribute to decisions that affect the well-being of clients by drawing on the perspectives, values, and experiences of the social work profession." In this video, the physician is not collaborating with the other members of the patient's healthcare team and seems to feel that her thoughts on the matter are more important than anyone else's. As I watched the video, I felt that the doctor was very unethical and unprofessional, as she not listening to her patient or allowing him to make his own decisions.
I disagree with the way that the physician treated the patient. The doctor did not seem to care that the patient no longer wanted to continue chemotherapy treatments and kept making jokes to distract him. I thought that this was very disrespectful to the patient.
This module emphasized the importance of healthcare providers listening to their patients, and that social workers have a duty to listen and be respectful toward their clients.
The textbook discusses the concepts of beneficence and nonmaleficence. These concepts apply to medicine as well as to social work. Physicians have a duty to keep their patients safe from harm as well as to advance good for their patients. This video very much tied to these concepts and showed that physicians need to remember that their patients get to make their own choices about their health.
I knew that physicians and other healthcare providers are supposed to listen to their patients and patients have the right to refuse or stop treatment. I learned that physicians might make errors in judgment and not follow their own code of ethics when treating patients.
The scenario in this video was interesting; and I am sure that this does happen in reality. Medical professionals and even social workers sometimes may not listen to what their patient or client is telling them. They may also think that they know what is better or what is in the person's best interest. This video was a reminder that as a professional, you must always respect your client and his or her choices, even if you personally disagree with their decision.
Video E: Nurse Gail and Shawn
This video was about a social worker and nurse who were discussing the communication issues between Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince. This video related to the themes of service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues.
Service: According to the Code of Ethics, one of a social worker’s primary goals is to help people in need and address social problems. Additionally, "social workers elevate service to others above their own self-interest. Social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems." In this video, the social worker and nurse discussed how Mr. Prince essentially felt bullied by his physician, Dr. Cure-All. Since Shawn is Mr. Prince's social worker, he wants to address this issue with the doctor, as Shawn's job as a social worker is to address any client problems.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: According to the Code of Ethics, social workers are often members of interdisciplinary teams who work together and should "raise ethical concerns should attempt to resolve the disagreement through appropriate channels. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, social workers should pursue other avenues to address their concerns consistent with client wellbeing.” Nurse Gail, Shawn, and Dr. Cure-All are supposed to be working together as a collaborate team in order to provide effective care to their client, Mr. Prince.
Disputes Involving Colleagues: According to the Code of Ethics, when social workers have any disputes with their colleagues, they are not supposed to "engage clients in any inappropriate discussion of conflicts between social workers and their colleagues". In this video, the social worker, Shawn, has an issue with the way that Dr. Cure-All has been talking to their patient, Mr. Prince. Shawn feels that the doctor has not been respecting Mr. Prince and his desire to stop chemotherapy. The social worker knows that the way the doctor has been acting is unethical, and he wishes to "call the doctor out”. The nurse does not want to get involved in the dilemma, so Shawn will need to be sure that he handles it with respect to the physician and not discuss the conflict with the patient/client.
As I watched the video, I thought that the social worker was handling the situation ethically while the nurse was not. Nurse Gail should have been acting in line with her nursing code of ethics, which would have been supportive of the social worker.
I agreed with Shawn’s decision to confront the physician about her behavior and lack of respect toward Mr. Prince. I disagree with the nurse’s behavior and lack of involvement or support for the patient.
I was disgusted by how the nurse did not want to get involved in supporting the social worker in doing what was right for the patient. I learned that as a social worker, I may be the only person standing up for what is right for the client; and that I may not get support from other healthcare professionals that should be supporting what is best for the patient/client.
I have learned about how different professionals have different ethical guidelines from in class and reading the textbook. As a social worker, I must have a clear understanding of what the Code of Ethics is as well as always think about the rights of the client. In this video, the client wanted to discontinue his chemotherapy and live the rest of his life out at home. The physician was not listening to what the patient wanted, and was not respecting the patient's wishes. As a social worker, Shawn wanted to confront the physician and speak to her about how she has been acting toward Mr. Prince. A social worker's duty is to their client, not the physician, so Shawn should speak to the physician acting as an advocate of Mr. Prince.
I knew that professionals would sometimes disagree with how to address patient or clients’ needs. I learned that it is always best to stand up for what is right for your client. In this case, the client is very vulnerable as he is very ill. He does not want to continue his chemotherapy treatments, and his doctor is bullying him into continuing them, even though he feels terrible from them.
I liked that the video was a realistic conversation between a nurse and a social worker, as I feel this is a likely scenario. Social workers need to stand up for the rights of their clients, even when it conflicts with another professional’s opinions. I always try to stand up for other people who are unable or even unwilling to stand up for themselves. I try to do this in all aspects of my life, from home, to work, to school. I do confront people when I feel they are harming someone else- even if it is just with words.
References
Barsky, A. E. (2010). Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach to a comprehensive curriculum. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Barsky, A. (2011, November 7). Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYceGd6Eass
Barsky, A. (2011, November 7). Scene 2: Nurse Gail and Shawn [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jXr0SfrHE
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp
PHGFoundation. (2008, October 8). Informed consent - The need for informed consent [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MSzRD7EDc0
Rector, A. (2012, July 31). Rector Ethics in Family Counseling 0001 [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dUGEIk4h3s
Zurinstitute. (2010, October 21). Introduction to boundaries: Part A of boundaries series [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://blackboard.wayne.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_41_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1065372_1%26url%3D
Student Replies:
Kyle: When comparing the themes that I selected from the videos versus what you selected, I do find some similarities and differences.
Video A: You selected gifts, sexual relationships, and confidentiality. The themes that I selected were integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact. I believe that your selections of gifts and sexual relationships are examples of conflicts of interest and physical contact. After reading your post, I can see the relationship between confidentiality and boundaries as well.
Video B: You selected informed consent, clarity, and responsibility. The themes that I selected were informed consent, clients who lack decision making capacity, and evaluation and research. I appreciate that you mentioned clarity, as it is extremely important that a client be clear as to what he or she is signing and consenting to. The consent is supposed to be informed, so the client must be clear and have a good understanding of their expectations.
Video C: You selected healthy families, ethics in families, and challenges . The themes that I selected were autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. Dealing with family counseling certainly involves understanding the dynamics of family as well as the challenges that will go along with dealing with conflict. You make a great point that " it is important in the family setting to keep your ethics intact and make sure you don’t cross any line that will lead to you losing your license." I really liked the fact there are models out there for social workers to use to help us keep us acting unethically. I imagine that it could be easy to lose control of a family situation if there was a lot of fighting between the family memebers.
Video D: You selected importance of social workers in the medical field, self-evaluation, and not to judge a book by its cover. The themes that I selected were importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration. I was focusing more on the fact that the physician was not hearing what the patient was telling him, and therefore not being respectful of the patient's rights. You however looked at it from the perspective of the patient being ill and needing someone to talk to, which was a valid perspective as well. This video was a good reminder that social workers are healthcare workers as well.
Video E: You selected competence, advocacy, and working with nurses. The themes that I selected were service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues. I addressed advocacy in my discussion about the importance of collaboration with other disciplines. I also addressed working with nurses and that all professionals must follow their code of ethics- which places the patient or client first. My thoughts were focused on how the social worker was acting ethically by talking to the nurse about the situation with Mr Prince, and that he was going to speak with the physician about his concerns about Mr. Prince's well being.
Overall I see that although we did not necessarily select the same themes for each video, we did essentially discuss the same main points or ideas.
Rebecca: When comparing the themes that I selected from the videos versus what you selected, I do find some similarities and differences.
Video A: You selected were integrity, competence, and conflicts in relationships. The themes that I selected were integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact. I believe we found similar themes in integrity and conflicts. I do agree that competence is something that social workers demonstrate by maintaining boundaries with their clients.
Video B: You selected respect of the client and the provider, balancing both sides of view, and of course informed consent. The themes that I selected were informed consent, clients who lack decision making capacity, and evaluation and research. Obviously we both names informed consent, but I do appreciate you noting that this video does reflect balancing both sides of a view. Both the client and social worker each have a different perspective of the treatment that the person is consenting to.
Video C: You selected the importance of human relationships, privacy, and resolving family disputes. The themes that I selected were autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. Social workers certainly will find themselves involved in resolving family disputes when doing family counseling, so it is very important that they understand and respect the importance of human relationships, as it is critical to resolving conflicts in these situations. I focused on the key elements of the model that should be used by a social worker when working with families and conflict; and I noticed that you talked about how helpful this model was as well.
Video D: You selected humor, the importance of human relationships, and taking care of a clients needs. The themes that I selected were importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration. I was focusing more on the fact that the physician was not hearing what the patient was telling him, and therefore not being respectful of the patient's rights. You mentioned this as well in your post. Although the doctor did attempt to use humor, I felt that she was just not being respectful of the patient.
Video E: You discussed advocacy of the client, different views in each field, and communication. The themes that I selected were service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues. I addressed advocacy in my discussion about the importance of collaboration with other disciplines. I also addressed working with different healthcare providers and communicating effectively with them for the sake of the patient.
Many of the main points or ideas that we got out of the videos were the same, even when we did not call them exactly the same thing.
This video was about boundaries and the importance of why social workers need to establish them. This video was related to the social work values of integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact.
Integrity: Integrity is an important social worker value that is directly related to this video. Social workers should act honestly and responsibly and are supposed to act in ways consistent with ethical practice. This video helped clarify the boundaries that social workers need to keep when working with clients.
Conflicts of interest: It is very clearly spelled out in the NASW Code of Ethics that social workers should not exploit others or take advantage of any relationship that they have with clients.
Physical contact: As a social worker you should not engage in any physical contact with clients when there is a possibility of psychological harm to the client as a result of the contact. According to the Code of Ethics, "Social workers who engage in appropriate physical contact with clients are responsible for setting clear, appropriate, and culturally sensitive boundaries that govern such physical contact."
As I watched the video, I thought about how social workers have to be very careful not to violate any boundaries, and that crossing them can lead to dilemmas.
I agree that it is very important for social workers to observe boundaries, as they can harm a client or person who is in their care and looking to them for help.
I have a very clear understanding of setting boundaries as a social worker and the different types there are as a result of watching this video. I also understand the difference between crossing a boundary and violating it.
Throughout the readings, boundaries have been mentioned numerous times. The video was very helpful connecting these concepts and discussing how boundaries can be crossed or violated by a therapist or the client.
I wanted to know some examples of boundary violations versus boundary crossings, which this video did discuss.
The video did explain that boundary crossing are often okay as they are ethical or may even be clinically effective. Boundary violations on the other hand are not okay as they will do harm, are an abuse of power, and exploit the client.
Although the video was not presented in a very enthusiastic or interesting way, Dr. Zur did provide valuable information. I can apply this information to my everyday life and interactions with other people. I know that I need to maintain appropriate boundaries with people that I work with, go to school with, and meet in any setting. It was helpful to be reminded about maintaining healthy boundaries in all relationships in my life.
Video B: Informed Consent
This video provided an explanation about what informed consent is and why it is important for the healthcare provider as well as the patient or client to consider. This video is related to the themes of informed consent, clients who lack decision-making capacity, and evaluation and research.
Informed Consent: The social worker is providing services to the client as a professional and therefore must obtain informed consent from the client. Clients need to understand what they are agreeing to, so social workers need to do whatever is needed to ensure that their clients comprehend what they are agreeing to as well and that they can ask the social worker questions. Social workers also need to let their clients know that they can refuse services whenever they want.
Clients Who Lack Decision-making Capacity: Social workers need to act on behalf of those clients whom are not capable of making their own decisions, which includes helping them understand what it is that they are consenting to.
Evaluation and Research: As part of research and evaluation, a social worker should obtain written informed consent from any participants. Informed consent in research has specific items that must be disclosed to the client ahead of time such as any risks and benefits to participating as well as what the research is being used for and how long they are required to participate. As I watched the video, I thought about how intimidating a healthcare professional or social worker could be giving a patient or client a long consent form to sign. I thought about how important it is for social workers to explain manners in a way so that their clients can understand their expectations and feel safe to ask questions.
I agree that informed consent is important for both the client and the social worker. As the client, you would want to understand what you are agreeing to and what to expect from the interactions with the social worker. As the social worker, you would want to make sure that you gave the client a chance to ask questions and understand what is happening.
I understand that healthcare providers use informed consent and the concept applies to social work as well as medicine. Just like in medicine, social workers need to receive consent from their clients so that clients will participate in and engage in activities that will be beneficial for them. Informed consent gives clients a chance to ask questions and clarify manners with a social worker before the social worker begins working with them.
The textbook discusses that informed consent must be obtained from clients before social workers begin working with them. Informed consent also protects the client and social worker by allowing both to discuss the expectations that they have for each other.
I do think that I understood the concept of informed consent before I watched the video, as it has been explained throughout various social work classes that I have had in the past.
I learned that informed consent protects both the client and the social worker and that when I am a social worker, I need to always obtain a client’s consent before I begin to speak professionally with them. I also learned that I could be accused of assault or neglect if I do not obtain a client’s informed consent.
This video about informed consent was short and “to the point”. By seeing the process of obtaining informed consent in the video, I believe that it reinforced what I have read and heard about in class. I also believe that it is important to let others ask questions in order to clarify manners and will furthermore allow others to do so when they are speaking with me.
Video C: Family Counseling
This video about family counseling discussed the themes of autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. These themes are a part of Kitchener's model of ethical decision-making.
Autonomy is important for clients as it is the promotion of self-determinism. The client has the freedom or choice of engaging with the social worker and discussing what he or she wants to discuss.
Beneficence is mentioned many times in the textbook and is an important concept in social work practice. Beneficence is about promoting good for others. A social worker should want to do good for the client by doing what is in his or her best interest.
Social justice is a core value of social work. It refers to providing equal treatment to all people.
As I watched the video, I thought about how a social worker might conduct a family counseling session. I thought about how I might handle conflicts in a session as they arose between family members.
I agree that it is important for a social worker to understand how to handle conflict, and that having a model like Kitchener's may be a very helpful approach to resolving conflict.
As I watched the video, I learned that my job as a social worker doing family counseling is to promote the welfare and well-being of the family members as well as the family unit as a whole.
The video promoted using Kitchener's model of ethical decision making for conflicts between individual family members and the family unit. It also explained that there is a difference between values and ethics. The textbook explains various ethical issues that occur when doing group work.
I wanted to know how a social worker might handle conflict when working with more than one client at a time.
I learned that it is helpful to use ethical models such as Kitchener's. These models are available to help guide social workers through the process of resolving conflicts or making ethical decisions in a variety of settings.
I found this video difficult to watch. It seemed that the woman was just reading off a script; I would have preferred to have had slides with illustration s. I was able to listen to the video and pick out important concepts that I believe will be helpful in resolving conflicts in my own personal life. Having a model to follow in resolving conflict will be helpful when I am dealing with conflicts with my family as well as my school and work interactions. All people disagree at some point, and this model will be helpful in reminding me of some steps I can take to help resolve the situation in a calm and effective manner.
Video D: Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince
This video was about a doctor and a patient whom were having issues communicating with each other. This video related to the theme of importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Importance of human relationships: This ethical principle states, "Social workers recognize the central importance of human relationships" Social workers work to strengthen relationships between people in an effort to promote, restore, maintain, and enhance the well-being of individuals and families.” In the video, the doctor is not displaying this value, as she continues to joke about Mr. Prince's decision of no longer continuing his chemotherapy.
Dignity and worth of a person: This ethical principle states, "Social workers respect the inherent dignity and worth of the person." Social workers seek to enhance clients’ capacity and opportunity to change and to address their own needs. Dr. Cure-All does not demonstrate this value as she tries to manipulate her patient into making a decision that he does not agree with.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: According to the Code of Ethics, social workers are often members of interdisciplinary teams who work together and should "participate in and contribute to decisions that affect the well-being of clients by drawing on the perspectives, values, and experiences of the social work profession." In this video, the physician is not collaborating with the other members of the patient's healthcare team and seems to feel that her thoughts on the matter are more important than anyone else's. As I watched the video, I felt that the doctor was very unethical and unprofessional, as she not listening to her patient or allowing him to make his own decisions.
I disagree with the way that the physician treated the patient. The doctor did not seem to care that the patient no longer wanted to continue chemotherapy treatments and kept making jokes to distract him. I thought that this was very disrespectful to the patient.
This module emphasized the importance of healthcare providers listening to their patients, and that social workers have a duty to listen and be respectful toward their clients.
The textbook discusses the concepts of beneficence and nonmaleficence. These concepts apply to medicine as well as to social work. Physicians have a duty to keep their patients safe from harm as well as to advance good for their patients. This video very much tied to these concepts and showed that physicians need to remember that their patients get to make their own choices about their health.
I knew that physicians and other healthcare providers are supposed to listen to their patients and patients have the right to refuse or stop treatment. I learned that physicians might make errors in judgment and not follow their own code of ethics when treating patients.
The scenario in this video was interesting; and I am sure that this does happen in reality. Medical professionals and even social workers sometimes may not listen to what their patient or client is telling them. They may also think that they know what is better or what is in the person's best interest. This video was a reminder that as a professional, you must always respect your client and his or her choices, even if you personally disagree with their decision.
Video E: Nurse Gail and Shawn
This video was about a social worker and nurse who were discussing the communication issues between Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince. This video related to the themes of service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues.
Service: According to the Code of Ethics, one of a social worker’s primary goals is to help people in need and address social problems. Additionally, "social workers elevate service to others above their own self-interest. Social workers draw on their knowledge, values, and skills to help people in need and to address social problems." In this video, the social worker and nurse discussed how Mr. Prince essentially felt bullied by his physician, Dr. Cure-All. Since Shawn is Mr. Prince's social worker, he wants to address this issue with the doctor, as Shawn's job as a social worker is to address any client problems.
Interdisciplinary Collaboration: According to the Code of Ethics, social workers are often members of interdisciplinary teams who work together and should "raise ethical concerns should attempt to resolve the disagreement through appropriate channels. If the disagreement cannot be resolved, social workers should pursue other avenues to address their concerns consistent with client wellbeing.” Nurse Gail, Shawn, and Dr. Cure-All are supposed to be working together as a collaborate team in order to provide effective care to their client, Mr. Prince.
Disputes Involving Colleagues: According to the Code of Ethics, when social workers have any disputes with their colleagues, they are not supposed to "engage clients in any inappropriate discussion of conflicts between social workers and their colleagues". In this video, the social worker, Shawn, has an issue with the way that Dr. Cure-All has been talking to their patient, Mr. Prince. Shawn feels that the doctor has not been respecting Mr. Prince and his desire to stop chemotherapy. The social worker knows that the way the doctor has been acting is unethical, and he wishes to "call the doctor out”. The nurse does not want to get involved in the dilemma, so Shawn will need to be sure that he handles it with respect to the physician and not discuss the conflict with the patient/client.
As I watched the video, I thought that the social worker was handling the situation ethically while the nurse was not. Nurse Gail should have been acting in line with her nursing code of ethics, which would have been supportive of the social worker.
I agreed with Shawn’s decision to confront the physician about her behavior and lack of respect toward Mr. Prince. I disagree with the nurse’s behavior and lack of involvement or support for the patient.
I was disgusted by how the nurse did not want to get involved in supporting the social worker in doing what was right for the patient. I learned that as a social worker, I may be the only person standing up for what is right for the client; and that I may not get support from other healthcare professionals that should be supporting what is best for the patient/client.
I have learned about how different professionals have different ethical guidelines from in class and reading the textbook. As a social worker, I must have a clear understanding of what the Code of Ethics is as well as always think about the rights of the client. In this video, the client wanted to discontinue his chemotherapy and live the rest of his life out at home. The physician was not listening to what the patient wanted, and was not respecting the patient's wishes. As a social worker, Shawn wanted to confront the physician and speak to her about how she has been acting toward Mr. Prince. A social worker's duty is to their client, not the physician, so Shawn should speak to the physician acting as an advocate of Mr. Prince.
I knew that professionals would sometimes disagree with how to address patient or clients’ needs. I learned that it is always best to stand up for what is right for your client. In this case, the client is very vulnerable as he is very ill. He does not want to continue his chemotherapy treatments, and his doctor is bullying him into continuing them, even though he feels terrible from them.
I liked that the video was a realistic conversation between a nurse and a social worker, as I feel this is a likely scenario. Social workers need to stand up for the rights of their clients, even when it conflicts with another professional’s opinions. I always try to stand up for other people who are unable or even unwilling to stand up for themselves. I try to do this in all aspects of my life, from home, to work, to school. I do confront people when I feel they are harming someone else- even if it is just with words.
References
Barsky, A. E. (2010). Ethics and values in social work: An integrated approach to a comprehensive curriculum. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Barsky, A. (2011, November 7). Dr. Cure-All and Mr. Prince [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYceGd6Eass
Barsky, A. (2011, November 7). Scene 2: Nurse Gail and Shawn [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3jXr0SfrHE
National Association of Social Workers. (2008). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/pubs/code/code.asp
PHGFoundation. (2008, October 8). Informed consent - The need for informed consent [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5MSzRD7EDc0
Rector, A. (2012, July 31). Rector Ethics in Family Counseling 0001 [Video file]. Retrieved from
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dUGEIk4h3s
Zurinstitute. (2010, October 21). Introduction to boundaries: Part A of boundaries series [Video file]. Retrieved
from https://blackboard.wayne.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_id=_41_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_1065372_1%26url%3D
Student Replies:
Kyle: When comparing the themes that I selected from the videos versus what you selected, I do find some similarities and differences.
Video A: You selected gifts, sexual relationships, and confidentiality. The themes that I selected were integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact. I believe that your selections of gifts and sexual relationships are examples of conflicts of interest and physical contact. After reading your post, I can see the relationship between confidentiality and boundaries as well.
Video B: You selected informed consent, clarity, and responsibility. The themes that I selected were informed consent, clients who lack decision making capacity, and evaluation and research. I appreciate that you mentioned clarity, as it is extremely important that a client be clear as to what he or she is signing and consenting to. The consent is supposed to be informed, so the client must be clear and have a good understanding of their expectations.
Video C: You selected healthy families, ethics in families, and challenges . The themes that I selected were autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. Dealing with family counseling certainly involves understanding the dynamics of family as well as the challenges that will go along with dealing with conflict. You make a great point that " it is important in the family setting to keep your ethics intact and make sure you don’t cross any line that will lead to you losing your license." I really liked the fact there are models out there for social workers to use to help us keep us acting unethically. I imagine that it could be easy to lose control of a family situation if there was a lot of fighting between the family memebers.
Video D: You selected importance of social workers in the medical field, self-evaluation, and not to judge a book by its cover. The themes that I selected were importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration. I was focusing more on the fact that the physician was not hearing what the patient was telling him, and therefore not being respectful of the patient's rights. You however looked at it from the perspective of the patient being ill and needing someone to talk to, which was a valid perspective as well. This video was a good reminder that social workers are healthcare workers as well.
Video E: You selected competence, advocacy, and working with nurses. The themes that I selected were service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues. I addressed advocacy in my discussion about the importance of collaboration with other disciplines. I also addressed working with nurses and that all professionals must follow their code of ethics- which places the patient or client first. My thoughts were focused on how the social worker was acting ethically by talking to the nurse about the situation with Mr Prince, and that he was going to speak with the physician about his concerns about Mr. Prince's well being.
Overall I see that although we did not necessarily select the same themes for each video, we did essentially discuss the same main points or ideas.
Rebecca: When comparing the themes that I selected from the videos versus what you selected, I do find some similarities and differences.
Video A: You selected were integrity, competence, and conflicts in relationships. The themes that I selected were integrity, conflicts of interest, and physical contact. I believe we found similar themes in integrity and conflicts. I do agree that competence is something that social workers demonstrate by maintaining boundaries with their clients.
Video B: You selected respect of the client and the provider, balancing both sides of view, and of course informed consent. The themes that I selected were informed consent, clients who lack decision making capacity, and evaluation and research. Obviously we both names informed consent, but I do appreciate you noting that this video does reflect balancing both sides of a view. Both the client and social worker each have a different perspective of the treatment that the person is consenting to.
Video C: You selected the importance of human relationships, privacy, and resolving family disputes. The themes that I selected were autonomy, beneficence, and justice or fairness. Social workers certainly will find themselves involved in resolving family disputes when doing family counseling, so it is very important that they understand and respect the importance of human relationships, as it is critical to resolving conflicts in these situations. I focused on the key elements of the model that should be used by a social worker when working with families and conflict; and I noticed that you talked about how helpful this model was as well.
Video D: You selected humor, the importance of human relationships, and taking care of a clients needs. The themes that I selected were importance of human relationships, dignity and worth of a person, and interdisciplinary collaboration. I was focusing more on the fact that the physician was not hearing what the patient was telling him, and therefore not being respectful of the patient's rights. You mentioned this as well in your post. Although the doctor did attempt to use humor, I felt that she was just not being respectful of the patient.
Video E: You discussed advocacy of the client, different views in each field, and communication. The themes that I selected were service, interdisciplinary collaboration, and disputes involving colleagues. I addressed advocacy in my discussion about the importance of collaboration with other disciplines. I also addressed working with different healthcare providers and communicating effectively with them for the sake of the patient.
Many of the main points or ideas that we got out of the videos were the same, even when we did not call them exactly the same thing.