Summary
- You may face ethical dilemmas in your work where you have to choose between carrying out your professional responsibilities, following a workplace code of ethics and following your own personal ethics.
- It is critical to know the scope of your role and your ethical responsibilities. You are responsible for ensuring that your actions are ethical and do not harm the people you work with.
- Following policies and protocols is part of the ethical requirement to be accountable for your actions and for the services you provide.
- When beliefs and value systems differ, there is the potential for conflict and misunderstanding. Being able to recognise potential ethical issues is essential.
- You have a responsibility to be aware of your own thoughts, feelings, attitudes, values, beliefs and biases and always ensure you provide non-judgemental support.
- When conflict and misunderstanding occurs it is important to know how to deal with the conflict and to use problem-solving techniques to ensure any issues are dealt with.
- Recognising unethical conduct means observing and reflecting on behaviour that does not conform to a code of ethics or a code of conduct. Before reporting unethical conduct, you need to check that the behaviour is unethical.
- Conflicts of interest may influence your ability to act ethically or with professional judgment. As soon as you are aware you have a potential conflict of interest you should notify your supervisor.
