Allison May's BSW Portfolio

Competency 1: Demonstrate Ethical and Professional Behavior

Social workers understand the value base of the profession and its ethical standards, as well as relevant laws and regulations that may impact practice at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Social workers understand frameworks of ethical decision-making and how to apply principles of critical thinking to those frameworks in practice, research, and policy arenas. Social workers recognize personal values and the distinction between personal and professional values. They also understand how their personal experiences and affective reactions influence their professional judgment and behavior. Social workers understand the profession’s history, its mission, and the roles and responsibilities of the profession. Social Workers also understand the role of other professions when engaged in inter-professional teams. Social workers recognize the importance of life-long learning and are committed to continually updating their skills to ensure they are relevant and effective. Social workers also understand emerging forms of technology and the ethical use of technology in social work practice. Social workers:

make ethical decisions by applying the standards of the NASW Code of Ethics, relevant laws and regulations, models for ethical decision-making, ethical conduct of research, and additional codes of ethics as appropriate to context;
use reflection and self-regulation to manage personal values and maintain professionalism in practice situations;
demonstrate professional demeanor in behavior; appearance; and oral, written, and electronic communication;
use technology ethically and appropriately to facilitate practice outcomes; and
use supervision and consultation to guide professional judgment and behavior.

Introduction: Competency one is focused on professionalism in social work and how individual social workers should conduct themselves to uphold this professionalism. As developing professionals and future social workers, it is important to constantly review and assess our personal values and beliefs compared to those of our professional lives. In addition, we should make it a habit to consistently be reviewing the NASW Code of Ethics to assist our professionalism in everyday work and when ethical dilemmas arise. Another important aspect of competency 1 to highlight is social workers committing to constantly learning. Learning can be existent in various forms through research, staying up to date with ethical procedures and policies, gaining greater knowledge about client populations, etc. The first artifact I chose to showcase is a journal entry I wrote after conducting an interview with my field supervisor regarding her approach to ethical dilemmas. The second artifact I have displayed below is my learning contract completed during my senior year field placement.

Competency 1-1

Artifact one is a journal entry I wrote following an interview I conducted with my field supervisor. We discussed how she approaches ethical dilemmas and how she addresses her personal and work values and beliefs. I found it very interesting to conduct this interview with my field supervisor who is a licensed professional counselor (LPC). While being trained as an LPC, my supervisor was to adhere to a different Code of Ethics than what I am being trained under. Throughout our discussion I was able to identify similarities and differences between being trained under different Codes of Ethics and transferring that to the same work place. As well, my supervisor displayed the importance of recognizing and being cognizant of her own personal biases and shared some of the ones she has worked to overcome throughout the years.

My second artifact is a link that will direct you to my first semester learning contract while participating in my senior year field placement. Each semester I created a learning contract, identifying roles and activities I would engage in as an intern that would correspond to my developing competency. As you explore more throughout my portfolio you will see 8 more competencies displayed and represented throughout my social work education. For each of these competencies, my internship provided me with engagement opportunities towards further developing my competency in each of the 9 areas.

Conclusion: Competency 1 is providing a framework for establishing professionalism within the field of social work. As social workers we learn and develop our competency through formal education and are called on to continue these throughout our careers. It is our duty to be constantly asked to check ourselves especially in terms of ethical standards and practice. Increased awareness about ourselves and our values assists in being able to evaluate our practice of social work in the field and making sure we are upholding the responsibilities highlighted in the NASW Code of Ethics. Artifact 1, where I interview my field supervisor in terms of her approaches to ethical dilemmas was beneficial to myself as a developing professional and my own ethical decision making framework. The conversation with my supervisor was particularly interesting due to her being a licensed psychologist, making her training surrounded by a different ethical code. Artifact two is greatly directed to competency 1 and the rest of the 9 social work competencies. Each semester of my internship, I was instructed to complete this learning contract which made my roles and completed work identifiable towards my competency development and adhering to ethical standards.