BJSW Advance Access published online on June 16, 2009
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcp065
Social Work Ethical Decision Making in an Inter-Disciplinary Context
Kit Sum Syrine Yeung is Assistant Professor of the Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University. She has an academic and professional background in social work and organisational psychology. She teaches psychology and counselling subjects and supervises social work placements in medical, child and family services settings. She had been the programme leader of Bachelor of Arts in Social Work, and Bachelor of Arts in Applied Psychology for more than fifteen years. She has active involvement in curriculum development of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the Department. Her current research interest is focused around theory and practice integration, social work ethics, adolescent development and family. Amy Po Ying Ho is Senior Lecturer and Senior Fieldwork Coordinator of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her primary research interests are in health policy and multi-disciplinary approach to social care. Dr Ho conducted evidence-based studies on integrated care for the elderly, health care access for racial minorities and ethical decision making for social work and nursing students. She also participated in consultancy research projects commissioned by the Hong Kong government in the arena of health care financing, social enterprises and tripartite partnership in poverty alleviation. She disseminated her research findings in the forms of international reference journals, research monographs, book chapters and practitioners' handbooks. Man Chun Hui Lo, M.Soc.Sc., is Lecturer and Fieldwork Coordinator of the Department of Applied Social Sciences at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Jenny has research interests in learning and teaching in fieldwork, policy and treatment practice on gambling addiction as well as enhancing the quality of life for people with mental handicap. Jenny conducted outcome studies on counselling service for people with excessive gambling and ethical decision-making process of professional trainees. She also carried out research projects commissioned by the Hong Kong government to evaluate the treatment centres offering counselling service to people with gambling addiction problems. Engle Angela Chan, Ph.D., sought to learn more about the meaning of nursing and caring as part of her continued scholarship. This intent has paved the way for her moving from Canada to the special administrative region of China, Hong Kong, where she is now the Associate Head for pre-service nursing education in the School of Nursing at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Apart from the administrative involvement, she continues her teaching of caring concepts that is underpinned by her research in education and practice based on narratives within the caring science and humanistic paradigm. Currently, her research lies in the areas of outcome-based education, inter-disciplinary approach of students' development in their ethical decision-making process and their caring attributes as well as learning about the meaning of time in nursing practice.
Correspondence to Kit Sum Syrine Yeung, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Applied Social Sciences, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.
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Abstract |
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In order to strengthen social work students' competence in ethical reasoning, three inter-disciplinary seminars were organised in which a group of final-year social work and nursing undergraduates jointly discussed and reflected on ethical decision making. Both social work and nursing students respected a client's rights to make decisions and choices, but they attributed different priority to this ethical principle when it came to making decisions on which professional intervention was based. Social work students continued to regard self-determination as the primary principle, whereas nursing students made a shift in principle from autonomy to a duty to care. The differences in applying professional values are conceived as the result of a web of personal, cultural, professional and organisational features. It is suggested that both the theory and practice of social work ethical decision making can be advanced by more individual reflection grounded on a plurality of perspectives.
Keywords: social work education, ethical decision making, ethical reasoning, self-determination, duty of care