(a) Social workers should work toward the maintenance and promotion of high standards of practice.
(b) Social workers should uphold and advance the values, ethics, knowledge, and mission of the profession. Social workers should protect, enhance, and improve the integrity of the profession through appropriate study and research, active discussion, and responsible criticism of the profession.
(c) Social workers should contribute time and professional expertise to activities that promote respect for the value, integrity, and competence of the social work profession. These activities may include teaching, research, consultations, service, legislative testimony, presentations in the community and participation in their professional organizations.
(d) Social workers should contribute to the knowledge base of social work and share with colleagues their knowledge related to practice, research, and ethics. Social workers should seek to contribute to the profession's literature and to share their knowledge at professional meetings and conferences.
(e) Social workers should act to prevent the unauthorized and unqualified practice of social work.
In short, once you're a social worker, you've got a part in maintaining social work and its reputation. How might this show up on the social work licensing exam? Maybe something like this:
A social worker in private practice is asked to speak at a high school on career day. She is not certain whether or not the class contains the children of clients. How should the social worker proceed?
A) Refuse the invitation to protect the confidentiality of her clients.
B) Accept the invitation.
C) Refer the school to a social work colleague.
D) Check with her clients about what classes their children are in.
This may seem tricky, but it's not. Encountering a client's child in the world does not constitute a breach of client confidentiality. Per the code clipped above, the social worker should accept and "contribute time and professional expertise to activities that promote respect for the value, integrity, and competence of the social work profession."
While this may not show up on the social work exam, it'll certainly show up in life. Go social workers!