Introduction
This paper outlines key tenets of an ethical code of conduct for those in governance, management, and professional staff at the Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County, Texas. The code of ethics addresses key tenets of the organization’s operations, including its structure and professional conduct. From this background, this paper also explores ways to implement the ethical code of conduct and possible consequences of violating them. By doing so, this paper argues that the ethical code of conduct for the Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County, Texas, would increase professionalism and reduce cases of ethical misconduct for those in governance, management and professional staff.
Background of the Facility
The Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County provides mental health services to people who are intellectually disabled. Its main services include providing job searches, counseling programs and benefits support to more than 10,000 people annually (BHCNC, 2015). These services align with the institution’s mission of working together to better human lives. Its organizational structure appears below
Organization Structure of the Facility
The organization structure of BHCNC (2015) appears below
Two Ethical Dilemmas that may be Encountered
Based on the nature of services undertaken by BHCNC (2015), the institution’s staff may commonly experience the following ethical challenges.
Right to Self Determination
The right to self-determination involves recognizing patients’ rights to make their decisions (Fowler, 2015). The staff of BHCNC (2015) could commonly encounter this ethical dilemma because the organization’s main clients are intellectually challenged people and patients who suffer from mental health problems. Therefore, the health care service providers may be tempted to make “right” health care decisions for the clients because of their possible incapability of doing so (American Medical Association, 2015). Similarly, a health worker may not agree with the decisions made by a client and refrain from implementing them (Fowler, 2015). Ideally, the health worker should guide the client to make the right decisions and eliminate any possibility of bias on their part (Robichaux, 2012).
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is a common ethical concern in many public health studies (Fowler, 2015). It refers to the need for a health worker to respect a client’s privacy. In the context of this study, the health workers of BHCNC (2015) may encounter a problem of revealing information about their clients to third parties. Common medical practice dictates that such an act should not occur without the permission of the patient (Robichaux, 2012). Health workers may disregard this provision when a client intends to inflict harm, or injury, to himself, or to other people (Robichaux, 2012). The commonality of this ethical concern emphasizes the need for acknowledging it as our second ethical dilemma in this study.
Ethical Standards for those in Governance, Management and Professional Staff
- Report cases of abuse or neglect as stipulated by law
- Not engage in, or permit other people from engaging in research studies that involve the disclosure of patients’ information
- Protect patients’ rights to make their decisions, except as required or permitted by law
Ways to Implement the Ethical Code of Conduct and Ensure Compliance
According to Whitehead, Herbertson, Hamric, Epstein, & Fisher (2015), implementing an ethical code of conduct involves communicating all ethical policies and guidelines to a target audience and equipping them with the necessary tools of adhering to them. To implement the above-mentioned ethical code, BHCNC (2015) should adopt a four-pronged strategy. The first tenet involves introducing a training course for the governance, management and professional team of the organization (the training may be one-on-one or virtual) (El Gara, 2015). Through such a training program, an expert could explain to the target audience about the different components of the ethical code of conduct and its meaning to them (American Medical Association, 2015). This way, they health workers know the requirements and expectations of adhering to the ethical code of conduct. An online training course would be ideal for BHCNC (2015) because it would allow the management team to work at their pace (Simova, 2015). However, there is a need to impose a deadline to make sure that the subjects deliver on the measurable goals of the training program.
Providing the code of ethics on the institution’s intranet platform for easy access (by employees) is the second strategy of the implementation program. This strategy would allow employees to refer to the ethical code of conduct whenever they need guidance on an ethical issue (Epstein & Turner, 2015). The third strategy of the implementation plan would involve providing the management team with an employee handbook (Whitehead et al., 2015). Similar to the virtual document provided on the company’s intranet, the employee handbook would also serve the same purpose of being an easy reference document for the health workers whenever they want to solve an ethical dilemma. The last part of the implementation plan would involve printing and framing the code of conduct on a notice board for all to see (Romani & Szkudlarek, 2014). The aim of doing so is to act as a reminder to staff about the importance of adhering to the stipulated ethical policies.
Consequences of Violating the Code of Ethics
The purpose of introducing penalties for violating the ethical code of conduct is to increase compliance with ethical principles and avoid conflicts between health researchers and BHCNC (2015) regarding their roles. Therefore, a violation of the ethical codes of conduct could easily result in disciplinary action. The proposed disciplinary actions proposed in this paper range from a reprimand to dismissal. The disciplinary action would affect:
- All employees who disregard the code of conduct or its associated laws
- Any employee who withholds information concerning violations of the ethical code of conduct
- Any manager who willingly, or unwillingly, participates in a violation of the ethical code of conduct, or demonstrates a lack of diligence in carrying out activities that relate to the adherence of ethical principles in the organization
- Any manager who retaliates, or encourages other employees to reprimand an employee who has reported a violation of the code of ethics
- Any employee who wrongfully and intentionally implicates another person for a violation of the code of ethics
Conclusion
The ethical code of conduct outlined in this paper addresses the ethical issues that would typically affect a behavioral health center, such as the Behavioral Health Center of Nueces County, Texas. The right to self-determination and confidentiality issues emerged as the main ethical concerns for the institution. The success of eliminating these challenges depends on the organization’s quest to implement a succinct implementation and ethical violation plan to discourage health workers from violating the existing ethical principles. By doing so, this paper argues that there would be increased professionalism and reduced cases of ethical misconduct for those in governance, management and professional staff.
References
American Medical Association. (2015). Code of medical ethics. Web.
BHCNC. (2015). About Us. Web.
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