Lesson 3: Ethical Responsibilities of a Case Manager


Attention

A little spoof illustrating the fragmentation that occurs in the current, expert-driven approach to delivering social services to those in need.
To view this video on YouTube click HERE


Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this lesson's material, students will be able to:

  • Identify ethical responsibilities of a case manager

Teaching

Read Chapter 1 in the textbook

In this section of the textbook we look at the ethical responsibilities of the case manager both to the clients they serve and the people that they work with.  

Ethical responsibilities include:

  • Not burdening clients with your problems
  • You are not acting in such a way as your clients are meeting YOUR needs
  • Avoid insisting on YOUR solutions to a problem
  • Avoid exploiting your client's dependency on you

Individuals who work in this field can sometimes become locked into patterns of behavior that lead them to mistreat their clients. Some of the reasons this happens include:

  • The individual worker may be unpleasant
  • Need for power
  • Lack of support for workers
  • Working alone (isolated) surrounded by unpredictable behaviors

One of the most important ethical considerations for you as a Case Manager is to practice within your competence....in essence, don't do work that you have not specifically been trained to do.

As a Case Manager you also have some responsibility to be aware of the well-being of your colleagues. If your co-workers are practicing in a way that is unethical or if they are somewhat impaired, you have an ethical obligation to address it...in some way.


Assessment

Lesson 3 Quiz

Refer to the Exercise II section on p. 37 of the textbook

  1. In scenario #1 describe what Jennifer did wrong and what she SHOULD have done.
  2. In scenario #4 describe what Jim did wrong and what he SHOULD have done.