Professional Code of Conduct for Staff in a Care Home for the Elderly

Ethics 1
Ethics
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Institution
Professor
Date
Corse

Ethics 2
Analyze all main features relevant to professional code of conduct appropriate for the staff
of your organization to illustrate how this ensures ethical decision making, equality and
fair treatment. Possible shortcomings
There is nothing amazing like being professionally and ethically treated. A professional
code of conduct in a care home for the elderly outlines the ethical principles that govern the
decisions as well as the behaviors at the home (Bishop 2013). It generally gives outline on how
the staff should as well as the specific guidance for handling the elderly people and the issues
surrounding their care. The relevant professional code of conduct appropriate for the staff at the
home care for the elderly is that all staff must act with care and diligence. This code of conduct is
very important in ensuring that the staff members make ethical decisions, treat all the elderly
people fairly as well as ensure equality in all circumstances (Heath 2010). This code of conduct
exhibits several notable features which allows for effective performance of the staff.
Responsibility is one the features of this code of conduct. It plays a very big role in
ensuring that a staff makes ethical decisions, treats all the elderly persons fairly and ensures
equality. A responsible person is someone who is reliable and can be trusted (Lucas, Kang and Li
2013). Acting with care and diligence requires a staff to be able to work under minimal
supervision and be ready to account for all his or her actions. To effectively carry out their duties
in the care home, they must be trusted by other staff members, the elderly people as well as their
relatives. This can only be achieved by being responsible. Responsibility also helps the staff to
think of the consequences of their actions before performing any role thus ethical decisions.
Expertise is a formal form of power which is provides the staff with a robust power base
from which they can manage these people effectively. In acting with care and diligence, this

Ethics 3
feature emphasizes on the fact it is a decisive resource which is used to create an organizational
value and also in decision-making (Role 2014). The staffs at the care home for the elderly are
required to make decisions and recommendations based on their skills and knowledge of care
and management. It is also very important because it helps in creating a highly energetic and
motivated place, supporting the elderly people who are under stress as well as empowering these
employees to take up ownership of their decisions. It is also important to note that expertise
helps the staffs to handle themselves with decorum, and always ethically act in accordance with
the rules set in place.
Another feature of this code of conduct that helps the employees to make better ethical
decisions as well as promote equality and fairness in a nursing home is professionalism.
Demonstrating professionalism at all levels during operation is important because it helps in
boosting a staff’s wage as well as improving the reputation of the organization as well as to
establish a boundary between what is ethical and what is unethical (Mullick, Martin and Sallnow
2013). Professionalism is also vey essential because it helps an individual to maintain
accountability, since the impression given is very significant. It is also vital to note that
professionalism promotes respect and encourages improvement. Staff interaction with the elderly
people is very key. Professionalism helps works to be able to know the difference between
ethical an unethical decisions, how the decisions will affect everyone within the organization and
the staff themselves. It is professionalism that the staff will also use to fairly treat the elderly
people and promote equality all through the home (Weber and Wasieleski 2013). It is also worth
noting that professionalism is what determines how friendly or unfriendly an employee is. All
the staff must act in a manner that promotes the organization’s wide success.

Ethics 4
Demeanor is a way in which people act and behave towards others (Meiner 2013). This
feature is very important to acting with care and diligence because it determines how the staff
will behave towards the elderly people, their relatives and other staff members. This feature
defines how an employer can be assertive and not aggressive towards everyone who visits the
care home as well as everyone in the care home. It also helps a staff to discover the importance
and use of behavior management, how to make a connection between emotional maturity and
professional behaviors, how to communicate with confidence and enthusiasm as well as how to
understand your own style and how others perceive you (McShane and Von Glinow 2013). It
also emphasizes on the importance of demonstrating behaviors that make everyone feel
comfortable. This ensures fair treatment as well as equality within the home care facility. By
applying the professional demeanor principles, a staff will get to learn how to maintain their
emotional balance regardless of the circumstances thus staying calm, composed, confident and
collected. With this, a staff will learn to control situations, and deal effectively with the difficult
people.
Acting with care and diligence also incorporates the principle of employee advocacy
(Lin, Watson and Tsai 2013). Advocacy is very important because it generates positive exposure
and also creates awareness about the home care for the elderly thus attracting more people. It
also represents both internal and external best interests of the company while recommending its
services (Zahedi 2013). It is therefore important that all staff members advocate for the
company’s mission, values, beliefs and services. This is a very essential feature in decision
making, ensuring fair treatment and promoting equality because a staff will first verify if what he
or she is advocating for is in relation to what the company believes in or not (Reamer 2013).