Having a career in the substance abuse department can create dilemmas involving personal convictions, experiences, and values. The history of how society perceives people with addictions is fraught with emotion, misperceptions, and unfortunately biases that have not only affected the care, but also the perception of drug users. For instance, it is …show more content…
In doing so, and by looking at their own action/reaction to the abusers, health care workers can forge ahead with the most ethical and proper course of action. Maneuvering through the most ethical and beneficial course of action becomes even more complex when the issue of AIDS/HIV is slipped into the mix of concerns that the abuser may present. AIDS/HIV has its own special ethical issues. Since HIV can be transmitted through sexual intercourse and by sharing drug needles, it evokes powerful personal feelings and awareness to the general public, as well as for health providers and social service workers. Advocates for individuals with HIV have diligently fought for years to sustain confidentiality, avoid mandatory data reporting, in order to ensure access to health care for those diagnosed with the HIV