Ethical Decision Making Paper
APA; 6-9 pages with abstract (150-250 words), 6 scholary references
Jane is a hardworking, licensed professional counselor who has a very successful private practice. Jane has not had a vacation in over a year. She is feeling the
stress and burnout and knows she needs to do something quickly for her own mental health. Thus, she decides to go on vacation for a week. She quickly makes the
arrangements and then emails all of her clients with whom she has appointments during the week of vacation, informing them of the need to cancel. She fails to let her
other clients know she will be gone; since none of her clients are in crisis, she decides to not worry about getting someone to cover her clients while she is gone.
Read and analyze the scenario above, applying the American Counseling Association’s (ACA) decision making model as outlined in the document “A Practitioner’s Guide to
Ethical Decision Making.” Divide the body of your paper—formatted in current APA style—into the steps outlined in the ACA document, making sure to address all
questions for each section. The steps from the ACA document (Forester-Miller & Davis, 1996) are outlined below.
Use outline as a guideline of what is to be included in paper. This assignment is NOT an outline.
· Identify the problem
o Outline the facts.
o Correctly identify the problem.
o Identify the problem as an ethical, legal, professional, or clinical.
o Identify the problem as related to self, client, institution, or agency.
· Apply the ACA Code of Ethics
o Identify all applicable ACA ethics codes.
· Determine the nature/dimensions of the dilemma
o Correctly identify moral principles of the profession.
o Identify the relevant professional literature that applies to the dilemma.
o Identify persons that would be consulted.
o Identify state or national professional associations that would be consulted.
· Potential courses of action
o List all potential courses of action.
· Consider consequences/Determine course of action
o Describe the potential consequences and implications for each course of action.
o Identify the best course of action and explain why.
· Evaluate the selected course of action
o Review the selected course of action to see if it presents any new ethical problems.
o Apply the tests of justice, publicity, and universality.
· Implement the course of action
o Describe what steps will be taken to implement the course of action.
ETHICAL DECISION MAKING PAPER GRADING RUBRIC
Criteria Points Possible Points Earned
Title Page 0 to 10 points
• Page header (in all upper-case letters) flush left and the page number flush right, both at the top of the page.
• Title summarizes the main idea of the paper.
• Title is in upper-case and lower-case letters and is centered on the upper half of the page.
• Title is less than 12 words.
• Student’s name: first name, middle initial(s), last name (no titles or degrees)
• Institutional affiliation is included.
Abstract 0 to 10 points
• The abstract provides a brief, comprehensive summary of contents of article.
• The abstract is 150–250 words.
• The abstract is a single paragraph with no indentation.
• The abstract is centered in upper-case and lower-case letters.
Identify the Problem 0 to 20 points
• Outline the facts.
• Correctly identify the problem.
• Identify the problem as an ethical, legal, professional, or clinical.
• Identify the problem as related to self, client, institution, or agency.
Apply the ACA Code of Ethics 0 to 20 points
Identify all applicable ACA ethics codes.
Determine the Nature/Dimensions of the Dilemma 0 to 20 points
• Correctly identify moral principles of the profession.
• Identifies the relevant professional literature that applies to the dilemma.
• Identify persons that would be consulted.
• Identify state or national professional associations that would be consulted.
Potential Courses of Action 0 to 20 points
List all potential courses of action.
Consider Consequences/ Determine Course of Action 0 to 20 points
• Describe the potential consequences and implications for each course of action.
• Identify the best course of action and explain why.
Criteria Points Possible Points Earned
Evaluate the Selected Course of Action 0 to 20 points
• Review the selected course of action to see if it presents any new ethical problems.
• Apply the tests of justice, publicity, and universality.
Implement the Course of Action 0 to 20 points
Describe what steps will be taken to implement the course of action.
References 0 to 10 points
• Provides web address for state rules/regulations.
• The assignment contains a reference page free of errors.
• References are from professional sources (Professional journals, and professional texts; no informal websites) and are cited on the reference page and in the
body of the paper.
• Citations present in body of paper for each paraphrase.
• Format of in-text citations is correct.
Format 0 to 10 points
Paper is in current APA format.
Grammar 0 to 10 points
• Correct spelling and grammar are used.
• Sentences are well-phrased and varied.
• Sentences are smoothly connected, logically constructed, and include effective wording.
Writing Style 0 to 10 points
• The writing style is clear, focused, and engaging.
• There are clear transitions between paragraphs.
• The paper is well-organized.
• The paper uses direct language.
• The paper is easy to read and uses appropriate voice, tone, and style for the assignment.
Total
Instructor’s Comments:
