I am in the field of Human Development, and major in Adult Development and Aging. As I got my Master in Social Work,  and I plan to get the license in social work, so I would like to talk about the codes of conduct in this field. I learned about  code of conduct or statements of professional ethics for social workers when I was in my first year of master’s program,  as it was a while ago, I searched the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers again from the NASW website.  The Code of Ethics was approved by the 1996 NASW Delegate Assembly and revised in the 2008.

The core values of social work profession include: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity and competence.  I have better understanding of these core values through my practicums and field study experiences in the National Multiple Sclerosis Society in St. Louis and also while I work as a social work student in an assisted living facility for older adults with dementia. The values that I have a deeper understandings are social justice and dignity and worth of the person.

While I work with MS Society, I learned that social workers pursue social change, and challenge social injustice. Social workers are on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people, like people with Multiple Sclerosis, which is a neuron disease that affect people’s auto, language and other functions. Social workers’ social change efforts are focused on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice and we provide  access to needed information, services, and resources for people with MS and their families.

As I am in the research field in aging, and I focus on older adults with dementia, I understand and respect the value of dignity and worth of the person. When people have dementia, they will have memory loss and they might be treated differently, but social workers treat each person in a caring and respectful way, and mindful of individual differences and diversity. Social workers advocate for person centered care instead of medical centered care, and we believe that older adults with dementia still have their dignity and we should respect their willings and help them function to the highest possibility.