Review classmates posting below and respond to the prompts that follow.

Postan explanation of the ethical dilemma in the case you selected

In the case of a 17-year-old boy who came into the clinic without his parents to be treated for a sexually transmitted disease. He disclosed that he has had unprotected sex with several partners while infected and has not communicated with them. In addition, the client also expresses that he will continue to engage in sexual activity while being treated (Walden University, 2023).The ethical dilemma in this case is patient privacy and confidentiality, parental consent, and the decision-making process. Based on the code of ethics, social workers may disclose confidential information when appropriate with valid consent from a client or a person legally authorized to consent on behalf of the client (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).When an ethical dilemma or conflict occurs, the health care social worker must employ available mechanisms, including social work supervision, peer review, institutional ethics committees, and external consultation, to resolve the dilemma (NASW, 2016).

From the perspective of the medical social worker, explain which ethical standards need to be considered and how those standards may suggest different courses of action.

From the medical social worker's perspective, the ethical standard must be considered is service, as a social worker's primary goal is to help people in need and address their social problems. Also, social workers have an ethical responsibility, client commitment, and informed consent. As a social worker, the primary responsibility is to promote the client's well-being; however, by law, we must report if a client is being abused or has threatened to harm themselves or others (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). In this case, since the client is a minor, also dealing with a case of infectious disease, battling between the individual's privacy rights and the possibility that they will put the general public at risk. These standards may suggest different courses of action by seeking advice and counsel from colleagues whenever such consultation is in the client's best interest. In addition, being aware of the right thing to do but being prevented from acting accordingly can lead to moral distress among healthcare professionals (Gehlert & Browne, 2019).

Then, explain how you might respond to the ethical dilemma as the medical social worker in this case. Explain two ethical responsibilities of a medical social worker in response to this case. Make sure to support your response by referring to the NASW Code of Ethics.

In response to this case, two ethical responsibilities of a medical social worker are 1.16 referral for services. A social worker should refer clients to other professionals when other professionals or specialized knowledge or expertise is needed to serve the client fully or when they are not being effective in making reasonable progress with the client and other services are required (National Association of Social Workers, 2021). In this case, refer the patient to a psychotherapy intervention to assist with mental and emotional difficulties. They could help develop any treatment for self-harming themselves. Another ethical responsibility is 1.02 self-determination; social workers may limit clients' right to self-determination when, in the social work professional judgment, clients' action or potential action poses a serious, predictable, and imminent risk to themselves or others (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).

References

Gehlert, S., & Browne, T. (2019). Handbook of health social work (3rd ed.). Wiley.

National Association of Social Workers. (2021).Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers.https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-EnglishLinks to an external site.

National Association of Social Workers. (2016).NASW standards for social work practice in health care settings.https://www.socialworkers.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=fFnsRHX-4HE%3D&portalid=0

Prompt-

• Provide a constructive critique of your colleague's post by sharing a different perspective of the dilemma.
• Refute or validate your colleague's ethical decisions. Provide your rationale by referring to the NASW Code of Ethics.