Medical counselors, specifically hospital social workers, play an important role in healthcare and patient health outcomes. With a focus on both the environment and overall wellbeing, hospital social workers provide essential non-medical care to patients and their family members. Hospital social workers follow the general ethical principles outlined by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), which do not adequately cover hospital work. Hospital social work, therefore, needs the field of bioethics to translate the broad ethical principles of the NASW into an adequate framework for use in healthcare. The social work principle of importance of human relationships, when used in conjunction with the bioethics principle of autonomy, will provide individual- and environment-centered care for all patients. The bioethics principle of beneficence will be used to adapt the principles of social justice and dignity and worth of the person to ensure that these principles are keeping in mind what is wholly beneficial to the patient. In this paper, a fictitious case study about a sick teenage girl from a lower-income background will be examined from the point of view of a social worker, a bioethicist, and from a combined perspective. Looking at the principles of each outlined above, the resolution of the case study shows that the most impactful response comes from the combined perspective, as there was a blend of medically focused and patient-centered approaches. The future directions indicate that integrating bioethics into hospital social work education and field work will best benefit patients.

Marie would like to extend a huge thank you to her faculty mentor, Dr. Harold Braswell, without whom she would not have been nearly as successful. From day one, Dr. Braswell has shown nothing but support and guidance, both on her capstone and throughout her time in the major. Dr. Braswell’s support and advice has been invaluable, and Marie feels truly lucky to have been able to complete her capstone under his guidance.