Professional Ethics and Law

Course overview

When professional values conflict with professional ethics, the organized and generally agreed-upon framework of an ethical code is vital. When ethics and the law collide, it may be necessary to consult the relevant professional organization. The American Medical Association, for example, has become involved when the law required that a physician be present at an execution. The AMA code of ethics explicitly forbids physicians from participating in capital punishment (Henry, 2018). This intermediate course is intended to provide healthcare professionals such as social workers with an overview of how professional values, ethics, and the law come into play in mental health practice.