Social Work Is a Human Rights Profession.

As defined by the International Federation of Social Workers, social work is a human rights profession. This is explicitly stated in the professional codes of ethics in many nations. However, the most recent version of the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers continues to exclude any mention of human rights, fitting in with the history of U.S. exceptionalism on this subject. Social workers around the world have a long history of working for the achievement of human rights, including an explicit grounding of practice in human rights principles: human dignity, nondiscrimination, participation, transparency, and accountability. Utilizing these principles, U.S. social workers can move from the deficit model of the needs-based approach to competently contextualizing individual issues in their larger human rights framework. In this way, social work can address larger social problems and make way for the concurrent achievement of human rights. This article explains these principles and provides a case example of how to apply them in practice.

Communication and collaboration among return-to-work stakeholders.

Purpose: Workers who are injured or become ill on the job are best able to return-to-work when stakeholders involved in their case collaborate and communicate. This study examined health care providers' and case managers' engagement in rehabilitation and return-to-work following workplace injury or illness. Method: In-depth interviews were conducted with 97 health care providers and 34 case managers in four Canadian provinces about their experiences facilitating rehabilitation and return-to-work, and interacting with system stakeholders. Results: A qualitative thematic content analysis demonstrated two key findings. Firstly, stakeholders were challenged to collaborate as a result of: barriers to interdisciplinary and cross-professional communication; philosophical differences about the timing and appropriateness of return-to-work; and confusion among health care providers about the workers' compensation system. Secondly, these challenges adversely affected the co-ordination of patient care, and consequentially, injured workers often became information conduits, and effective and timely treatment and return-to-work was sometimes negatively impacted. Conclusions: Communication challenges between health care providers and case managers may negatively impact patient care and alienate treating health care providers. Discussion about role clarification, the appropriateness of early return-to-work, how paperwork shapes health care providers' role expectations, and strengthened inter-professional communication are considered. Implications for Rehabilitation Administrative and conceptual barriers in workers' compensation systems challenge collaboration and communication between health care providers and case managers. Injured workers may become conduits of incorrect information, resulting in adversarial relationships, overturned health care providers' recommendations, and their disengagement from rehabilitation and return-to-work. Stakeholders should clarify the role of health care providers during rehabilitation and return-to-work and the appropriateness of early return-to-work to mitigate recurring challenges. Communication procedures between health care specialists may disrupt these challenges, increasing the likelihood of timely and effective rehabilitation and return-to-work.

The Use of Standardized Discharge in IPS Supported Employment Programs.

OBJECTIVE: Some researchers have argued for using standardized discharge rules in individual placement and support (IPS) based on time of unemployment. To evaluate potential adverse outcomes of these rules, the authors examined time to first job over 24 months in a large randomized controlled study. METHODS: This secondary analysis of 2,055 participants in the Mental Health Treatment Study, using bootstrapping and survival analysis, estimated and compared the likelihood of finding a first job in the IPS and control groups during each quarter over 24 months. RESULTS: Although the likelihood of obtaining a first job declined over time, IPS recipients were more likely than participants in a control group to find first jobs for at least 18 months. CONCLUSIONS: Use of standardized discharge rules in IPS, based on initial periods of unemployment, may be cost-effective but would penalize recipients who respond more slowly. Natural attrition may be a more sensitive and ethical way to create capacity.

Sexual boundary violations: the conduct, the code, and the consequences.

Health services professionals agree that sexual relations between treating clinicians and their patients are harmful and should not be tolerated. Minnesota law and regulations encourage identification of offending clinicians in order to protect the public. Regulatory agencies such as the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice seek to stop licensed professionals from engaging in sexual behavior with patients and also, when feasible, to restore medical professionals to competent practice. The authors recommend individualized psychiatric assessment and therapy for physicians who violate professional standards.