Health & Social Care: Linking Personal Values to Professional Conduct

This essay provides a reflective analysis of the author's personal values, particularly dignity and empathy, and their relevance to the health and social care sector. It details personal experiences, including caring for a grandfather with dementia and being a patient in a hospital, to illustrate the application of these values. The essay connects these experiences and values to established theories such as Social Learning Theory and Systems Theory, as well as professional codes of conduct like the HCPC code and PSA standards. The reflection emphasizes the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality, promoting patient interests, and ensuring transparency in healthcare practices, aligning personal values with professional responsibilities and ethical considerations in health and social care.

Health and Social
Care Question -
Thinking about
yourself

Table of Contents
1) INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................................3
2) Personal values relating to health and social care ..................................................................3
3) Personal experiences ..............................................................................................................4
4) Link between personal values and experiences and theories and codes of practices..............4
5) CONCLUSION ..........................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................6

·1) INTRODUCTION
The present report is a reflective writing about the ways in which personal experience,
values and principles show consistency with the professional requirements that health and social
care sector has. The report will describe personal values related to health and social care. It will
then provide details about the relationship between personal experiences and health and social
care (HSC). Further, link between the personal experiences and theories has also been provided.
This will include reference to Healthcare and professions council (HCPC) code of conduct and
Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
l壱2) Personal values relating to health and social care
There are various personal values which related to HSC. They are equality, creativity,
dignity, compassion, empathy etc. I feel that my personal values that are strongly related to HSC
are dignity and empathy. These values are important as they exert significance influence on the
clinical decisions and behavior (Tuzzio and et.al., 2021). By developing an understanding these
values, patent centered decisions making can be greatly improved.
The value of dignity indicates the state of being worthy of respect and honor. This is my
personal value that I feel is strongly connected to the HSC area. Dignity in care is concerned
with provision of care in a manner that offers support to the self – respect of the service users. It
includes recognizing the ambitions and capabilities of the patient and avoiding any action which
undermines it. There are various ways in which I ensure to maintain the dignity of the patient I
am caring for. These include involving them in the decisions related to their care and addressing
them properly with due respect. Further, the personal value of dignity also requires that I handle
the hygiene activities in a sensitive manner. Small gestures like letting the service users choose
their clothing also assists in maintain their dignity while caring for them.
The value of empathy is related to HSC as it includes the ability to develop an
understanding about the experience of the patient irrespective of developing a bonding with
them (Luciani and et.al., 2020). I consider empathy as strongly related to HSC because it is
highly effective in building patient trust. It also assists in calming the anxiety of the service users
which results in better health outcomes.
3

l壱3) Personal experiences
I would discuss an experience when I cared for my grandfather who was suffering from
dementia. I was the first point of contact for him. It is during this care that I realized the
importance of values and skills. There were episodes when my grandfather became stubborn to
perform a certain task which he was not capable of doing due to his old age. It was at this time
that values such as empathy, compassion and patient assisted me to be calm and tackle the
situation properly. With these values I could convince him to allow me to do that particular task
for him.
Another experience was when I fell ill and had to be admitted in the hospital for 2 days. I
suffered from food poisoning due to which I had to be admitted to the hospital for 2 days.
During these days, the doctors and nurses took care of me. I observed that while caring for me
and administering the medication, the nurses were compassionate and treated me with dignity. I
was unable to do the activities of daily life as I was resting. But, the nurses assisted me with
these activities in a manner that did not undermine my respect and honor.
It is with these experiences that I could relate to the health and social care and could
learn the importance and application of personal values in this area.
l壱4) Link between personal values and experiences and theories and codes of practices
Social Learning Theory
There is a significant link between the personal experience and theories. Social Learning
Theory proposes that an individual learns by observing others and makes efforts to model their
behavior (Ardenghi and et.al., 2021). Therefore, as per this theory, I would learn various skills
and values required in HSC by observing others such as nurses and healthcare professionals.
Systems theory
Similarly, Systems theory proposes that there are a variety of factors which influence
behavior (Cockerham, 2020). These include family, social settings, friends etc. This theory is
linked to my personal experiences as I learnt to respect other people and be compassionate with
others as I was taught these by my family members. My friends also have these values which
4

influenced my behavior and made me be empathetic towards my grandfather while I was caring
for him.
Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) Code of Conduct
According to the HCPC code of conduct, there are 10 standards that need to be followed.
The 5th standard is ‘Respect Confidentiality’ (The standards, 2021). As per this standard, the
healthcare professionals are required to maintain confidentiality about the information of the
service users. As per my experience, when I had to be admitted to the hospital, I also expected
the organization as well as the professionals to maintain confidentiality about my health
information. Standard 1 requires to protect and promote the interests of the service users and
carers. I observed the nurses and health care practitioners involving me and family members in
the decisions pertaining to my treatment. Hence, this standard was followed by them.
Professional Standards Authority (PSA)
This authority is responsible for protection of the public as it oversees the registration
and regulation of healthcare professionals. The Standards of good Regulation, developed by the
PSA state that the regulators need to be transparent and accountable and strive to protect patients
and reduce harms (Our Standards, 2021). This is in accordance with my personal values
according to which it is important that healthcare professionals should be transparent with the
service users and his family while communicating about the treatment. This is required so that
the patients feel involved in the care. It is also required so that there develops a trust between the
patient and the healthcare professionals.
Safeguarding Adult
It is act that means protecting the health and overall well-being of individual that are explosed
to high risk so that they life safely, being free from neglected and abused by other. So both
organization and healthcare professional take steps to protect individual from being caused
harmed in any circumstance. Likewise treating them equally, respectfully and providing them
appropriate support so that they can complete their respective task.
Children’s Act (1989)
5

It is another act that gave right to each child from being protected from being abused and
exploited. Furthermore, this act emphasis on providing appropriate care and resources to child so
that it grow in healthy and safe environment. (Jones, 2020) All measure has been taken by
healthcare, family member to provide safe, and secure place to child for having fun and
entertainment. Therefore, it is duties of all local authorities, family member to safeguard and
promote welfare of child so that it can learn new thing.
·5) CONCLUSION
From the above report it can be concluded that health and socail care need to be provided
to individual so that they can stay fit and fine for many year. Equality, diversity, maintaining
confidentiality of patient information and providing appropriate care are various personal value
that are being associated with health and social care. Furthermore, it has been learned that there
are code of practice that has to be followed by healthcare such as safeguarding adults,
Children’s Act (1989)Professional Standards Authority (PSA) and Health Care and Professions
Council (HCPC) Code of Conduct.
·
6

·REFERENCES
Journals and Books
Ardenghi, S. and et.al., 2021. Personal values as early predictors of emotional and cognitive
empathy among medical students. Current Psychology, pp.1-9.
Cockerham, W.C., 2020. Sociological Theories of Health and Illness. Routledge.
Luciani, M. and et.al., 2020. Personal values among undergraduate nursing students: A cross-
sectional study. Nursing ethics, 27(6), pp.1461-1471.
Tuzzio, L. and et.al., 2021. Aligning care with the personal values of patients with complex care
needs. Health Services Research.
Jones, R., 2020. A Drama in Two Parts: Part I—The 1989 Children Act and Children’s Social
Services. In A History of the Personal Social Services in England (pp. 211-245).
Palgrave Macmillan, Cham.
Online
Our Standards. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.professionalstandards.org.uk/what-we-do/improving-regulation/our-
standards>. [Accessed on 11 November, 2021].
The standards. 2021. [Online]. Available Through:
<https://www.hcpc-uk.org/standards/standards-of-conduct-performance-and-ethics/>.
[Accessed on 11 November, 2021].
7