What’s Trending: Continuing Education on Ethics

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All social workers, regardless of their roles, have a responsibility to pursue their work in an ethical manner. But, throughout their careers and as practice evolves, social workers may face ethical dilemmas. To support social workers in ethical practice, NASW offers a slate of continuing education focused on ethics. 

To get a sense of these offerings, here’s an overview of three popular ethics courses trending on NASW's  Social Work Online CE Institute.

Understanding the NASW Code of Ethics

“Understanding the NASW Code of Ethics” is an interactive, 3-hour self-study course that explores social work ethics by examining its evolution from the first NASW Code of Ethics, published in 1960, to today's Code. In six modules, participants examine the content, composition, and application of ethical standards via engaging activities and case scenarios that capture diverse social work settings. They’ll look at historical approaches to moral reasoning and trending topics in social work today before digging into the Code, its major revisions, and its purpose.

Presenters: Andrea Murray, LICSW; Frederic G. Reamer, PhD; Stephanie Asare-Nti, MSW, LCSW-C; and Terricka Hardy, LCSW, ACSW, BCD, CCFP

Upon completing the course and post-test you will earn 3 hours of online continuing education credits. 

Learn more and register for “Understanding the NASW Code of Ethics”


Behavioral Ethics: A Lens to Examine Ethical Challenges in Social Work Practice

Behavioral ethics is an area of scholarship and research that recently emerged from the fields of cognitive psychology and business management. “Behavioral Ethics: A Lens to Examine Ethical Challenges in Social Work Practice” is a one-hour webinar presentation that explores the question of how “good” people can engage in “bad” actions without being aware of the unethical nature of their behavior. The goal of this webinar is to help participants learn how basic psychological processes contribute to ethical blind spots in practice, identify strategies to build ethical capital in social work organizations, as well as to hone their ability to identify and analyze ethical risks in practice.

Presenters: Robert Madden, LCSW, JD, Professor of Social Work and Equitable Community Practice

Upon completing the webinar you will earn 1 hour of online continuing education credit. 

Learn more and register for “Behavioral Ethics”


Social Work Ethics and “Everyday” Technology

Technology has changed rapidly in the past 10 years and continues to affect the way social workers practice in unexpected ways. While it's clear that technology will be an important part of our work going forward, it does come with ethical considerations. “Social Work Ethics and ‘Everyday’ Technology” is a one-hour webinar that reviews examples of current technology use as it relates to social work practice. Ethical standards will be discussed throughout the presentation to provide framing for practice boundaries. Participants use existing research to consider how technology use is changing in regard to social work practice. The webinar also provides examples of the future of technology use and how social workers may engage.

Presenters: Stephen Cummings, ACSW, LISW is a clinical assistant professor for the University of Iowa School of Social Work

Upon completing the webinar you will earn 1 hour of online continuing education credit. 

Learn more and register for "Social Work Ethics and “Everyday” Technology"


In addition to these three courses, there are dozens of courses focused on ethics and hundreds of other continuing education opportunities to explore within the CE Institute. Want some recommendations?

Check out this infographic outlining some of the most popular courses in the CE Institute. NASW members receive discounts on courses. Join NASW today to take advantage of our member benefits and save on CE courses.


Social Work Online CE Institute


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NASW offers hundreds of continuing education courses on a variety of topics that social workers need to understand.

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Dealing With an Ethical Dilemma? NASW Can Help!

The NASW Office of Ethics and Professional Review (OEPR) provides programming and resources to educate NASW members and the profession on the NASW Code of Ethics. OEPR also provides free ethics consultations to members of the Association and administers NASW’s professional review process.

Learn about ethics consultations for NASW members


NASW Research Library

Find resources that support your social work practice.

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CE Approval Program

NASW helps organizations promote continuing education programs that meet our rigorous criteria.

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