Bioethics and biomedical ethics are defined. Common bioethical concepts, exemplary moral values, fundamental ethical principles, general ethical theories, and approaches to moral reasoning are reviewed. The scope of topics and issues, the nature of practice situations in bioethics, and social work roles on organizational bodies that monitor and respond to bioethical issues are summarized, as are trends in bioethics. Practice contexts, from beginning to end of life, are highlighted with biopsychosocial facts, ethical questions and issues, and implications for social work—a profession uniquely positioned in giving bioethics a social context.
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Bioethics
Larry W. Foster
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Foundations in Future Directions for Social Work Leadership
Darlyne Bailey, Kimberly B. Bonner, Katrina M. Uhly, and Jessica S. Wilen
The concept of leadership has evolved from focusing on innate abilities, to learned skills, to understanding that leadership is composed of both skills and abilities. Recently, theorists and practitioners have identified elements of effective leadership within social work organizations. These areas of knowledge, skills, and values encourage social work leaders to recognize their organizations as living systems within an interdependent world and aid them in connecting humanistic intentions with effects. Both acknowledgment and enactment of these leadership competencies are essential for all organizational members to engage in effective dialogue and action. Social workers, regardless of their organizational titles, can learn and hone these qualities in social work training programs and continuing professional development opportunities, as well as through practical field experiences for effective leadership in the field.
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Meditation, Mindfulness, and Social Work
Sadye L. M. Logan
Research has shown that social workers and other helping professionals can make use of the contemplative practices from religion and spiritual disciplines. These practices can be utilized as tools that help social workers become more intentional and effective change agents as helpers in their work with individuals, families, children, and communities. This entry discusses the evolution and emergence of the practices of meditation and mindfulness within the helping context, starting with the historic roots in different religions to its usage in the early 21st century with children and families. Additionally, it addresses the limitations and benefits of meditation and mindfulness as practice tools.
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Moral Injury in the Military
Lataya Hawkins
Moral injury has become a common term used to describe the complex symptoms experienced when there is a violation of one’s moral code. While the term is new, the concept of moral injury has been prevalent in human society since ancient times and conceivably since the beginning of humankind. It can be traced back to the Greco-Roman era when warriors shared intimate stories of their moral challenges on the battlefield. Moral injury has been extensively researched within the military population to describe the soul wound some service members carry because of war. It should not be confused with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the well-known mental health condition associated with veterans, however they can comorbidly exist with overlapping symptoms which therefore often makes it difficult to distinguish. What makes moral injury different from PTSD is that in many occurrences, it is the individual who commits a moral offense (versus mortal danger to self or others), and consequently must deal with aftermath of failing to be the moral (good) person they believed they were. Moral injury is important to understand conceptually and recognize clinically as it has been found to be closely associated with increased risk of suicide in service members and veterans.
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Voluntarism
Dennis L. Poole
Voluntarism can be interpreted at the levels of values, structure, and ideology. In Western society, voluntarism rests heavily on secular and religious values originating in both Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian traditions. Today the voluntary sector in the United States can be divided into five main types: social support networks, grassroots associations, nonprofit organizations, human service agencies, and private foundations. At the level of ideology, voluntarism can be interpreted as “civil society.”
