Ethics Essay step 3 and 4

Running head: SERVING ETHICALLY 1

SERVING ETHICALLY 2

Serving Ethically

Melvin Amaya

Civic Action

Institutional Affiliation

Serving Ethically

It is good to serve; however, it is best to serve ethically. Ethical services are not easy to execute; therefore, in most cases, people assume what good service is and what is an ethical service. Often, when we want to volunteer, we desire to serve and give back to the community because we believe that we will make a difference not in our lives but to the lives of those we serve. Voluntary work is essential and a noble gesture to serve others at a local or global level. That implies that the services rendered to the community can impact the residents positively or negatively. That is why understanding whether what you are doing, in the form of service, is a good or a bad thing. This is where ethical service comes in because it helps a service provider do what they think is right to self and those being served. This paper provides a discussion on why I think offering voluntary service to vulnerable communities is ethically important.

For the past 6 months, I have been working as a voluntary service provider affiliated with Holy Cross hospital, Baltimore. I believe that serving the vulnerable population is ethical because it helps them avoid the adverse and risky situations they face and feel the compassion that the service comes with. Vulnerable population refers to groups of people exposed to high risks and adverse effects within the residence community. In my service area, I deal with the elderly and individuals with various forms of disabilities that have rendered them helpless and in need of help from other people (Meyer et al. 2014). I believe that doing this to them I justified and ethical because ethical responsibilities define what is right and what is wrong.

The major considerations I put into this service to ensure it is an ethical practice are ensuring that the vulnerable populations I serve are protected through appropriate safeguards and relevant training is offered to all those involved in the partnership to help these people. This is an ethical act because it tends to ensure the entire community and partnerships are aware of the need to protect the elderly and people with disabilities (Salam et al. 2019). It is an ethical service provider practice because before joining the service, I took part in training and basic skill orientation to ensure that I handle the populations I serve with a lot of care. I consider it an ethical service because we provide the community and the populations we serve with long time benefits. The benefits we create to these people as direct volunteers entail ensuring that our interactions with the elderly and people with disabilities outweigh the stress and tough times we undergo to suppress our turnovers. For instance, I have worked within the Maryland community for close to two months, and I love the impact I have created on the people I serve.

It is also important to consider the aspect of privacy, dignity, and consent of the population I serve as a volunteer because it is ethical. That includes how I share information, images, and photos with the public. I have never done that without the consent of my clients. This is why I believe the services I provide are ethical.

References

Salam, M., Iskandar, D. N. A., Ibrahim, D. H. A., & Farooq, M. S. (2019). Service-learning in higher education: A systematic literature review. Asia Pacific Education Review, 20(4), 573-593.

Meyer, R. D., Dalal, R. S., José, I. J., Hermida, R., Chen, T. R., Vega, R. P., ... & Khare, V. P. (2014). Measuring job-related situational strength and assessing its interactive effects with personality on voluntary work behavior. Journal of Management, 40(4), 1010-1041.