The code of ethics is crucial for social workers to comply with the changes taking place in society, both due to natural processes and situational specifics. Therefore, the document has to be regularly updated to fulfill the needs of the people that it affects. It has been modified many times over the years of its existence, and the pandemic that started in 2020 was a critical situation for the appropriate functioning of social workers as many conditions were to change. The most recent primary modifications applied to the code were related to self-care and cultural competence of social workers, requiring them to be competent in nuances and aspects of related issues.
One of the main updates is related to the term itself, whereas previously, it was referred to as cultural awareness. The reason for that was that it is not sufficient for social workers to be aware of cultural diversity and specifics, but they have to be competent in these regards. This allows them to understand their own bias and conduct self-correction, as well as help others to deal with related problems (Murray, 2021). The changes related to self-care were dedicated to be the message to social workers that they are not only allowed but have to care about themselves before caring for others. The main concern that was present when including the term in the code of ethics was that if there was a standard or a protocol that would affect how social workers should care for themselves, it could be used against them. For this reason, the code of ethics only points out that there is a need for social workers to practice self-care.
Reference
Murray, A. 2021 amendments NASW Code of Ethics: Self-care and cultural competence. Web.