Summary: A Children's Agency Applicant

A Children’s Agency Applicant In social work, ethical dilemmas can be obstacles in the process of getting a client through difficult times, but they can also be a learning experience. As defined by Murphy from the Massachusetts chapter of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), an ethical dilemma is, “a circumstance which occurs only when two or more social work values are in conflict” (Murphy). An example entails Lee Zook’s situation at the Children’s Agency, which is an outpatient psychiatric facility, where Zook did not know if she should break confidentiality or seem prejudiced toward an interviewee, versus remain quiet about her past with the woman (Zook, 2014). To find helpful information for both sides, I used a few sources …show more content…
Three years ago, Zook worked at Adult Hospital, a psychiatric facility for adults, where she admitted Jones for emergency care. The patient had undifferentiated schizophrenia, her mental health seemed to be worsening, and she confided that she had prior experiences as a psychiatric patient. Though the situation was a normal one for a social worker in her position, Zook felt personally uncomfortable because she was admitting a patient who had a Masters in Social Work, and Zook, herself, planned to obtain that degree soon since she was an unexperienced social worker with only a Bachelors. Moving to the present dilemma, Zook’s more recent position was at a Children’s Agency, and there is where she encountered Jones, again, waiting to be interviewed for a social worker position. Not only is the encounter a surprise to Zook, but the fact that the interviewee is hoping to work at her agency in which children and families are treated also makes the situation uncomfortable for her. As a result of Zook’s past with the woman, Zook knows she has the obligation to inform others of possible harm that may come to the agency and the clients, but that there is also a need to keep private information about Jones’ health …show more content…
Starting with the article from SCU, debaters asked several questions about a dilemma that assists the reader in deciding how to resolve the issue, including the facts readers do and do not know about the situation, those who have an advantage or disadvantage in either resolution and have higher gains or losses, the options possible to resolve the problem, and which ethical approach applies to the chosen option (Scu.edu, 2014). Applying these questions to the situation, the facts are that the social worker is working at an outpatient psychiatric facility, the interviewee admitted herself to a psychiatric ward a few years ago for her mental illness, the same woman is now interviewing for a position at the outpatient facility, and that she apparently has skills necessary for the job for which she applied if she's being interviewed. Relevant information we do not already know includes Jones’ current mental health, any medications and other methods she is using to work competently, whether a confrontation would make her too uncomfortable to interview or work there, if informing the supervisors would reduce her chances of getting the job, and how not getting the job would affect her family, if she has one. Furthermore, the people gaining from any resolution

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