Education on social work ethics and ethical decision making

The ethics of social work as applied ethics defines the purpose of teaching the course: to help students in their attempts to solve contemporary moral problems, associated with making an ethical decision. Social work education reflects social issues in society related to social inclusion, poverty and prosperity. Social work training at the Faculty of Medicine of Trakia University has an established tradition in cooperation with the institutions of social services and the state social agencies. This article highlights the importance of ethical education for students to acquire ethical decision-making skills, according to the specifics of practical situations. We argue that teaching by analysis of ethical dilemmas derived from the practice is one of the most effective means to develop and consolidate the practice of the real activity of performing the difficult but justified ethical choice. In this context, five groups of dilemmas that derive from the practice of social work in Bulgaria have been analyzed. The analysis and discussion of ethical dilemmas in teaching the ethics of social work are presented as a tool for orientation of students in the moral problematic situations with which they may encounter in the practice of social work.