Addendum
I learned a lot about how to manage ambiguity and emotions relating to ethical dilemmas throughout the process of writing this paper and having an in-class discussion about it. Even though I have not experienced the ethical dilemma that I wrote about, it helped to work through it anyway and really think about how I would handle the situation. It has also helped me think through how to handle emotions from other calls, even if there is not a true ethical dilemma. For example, last week I started taking all calls, and although I have yet to handle a suicide call, I dealt with one that I was dreading – an SF, or sexual fantasy. I did not realize what was happening at first, because the caller started out talking about being an after-school …show more content…
Luckily, that worked. They assured me that it was nothing to be embarrassed about, and one of the ladies had even spoken to an SF caller for a half hour without realizing it during her first SF call. They also told me that, somehow, SF callers know when the new volunteers start working the phones so their calls pick up, but after awhile they will realize the newbies know how to “sniff out” an SF call and they will scale back on frequency. I know this situation is not an ethical dilemma, and has nothing to do with my paper, but I wanted to share how I was able to put this assignment to use at my practicum. When we split into groups for our in-class discussion about our ethical dilemmas, it helped that one of my group members was a previous volunteer at my practicum, so she understood what I was talking about and could offer feedback. She told me that I will experience ethical dilemmas in situations that are not as drastic as the one I talked about in my paper, but the way I worked through it and figured out ways to handle the ambiguity and emotions would work well for the setting I am in. I also found a lot of comfort in going over ways to manage emotions in class, as I feel better capable of handing future situations when I have many different skills in my toolbox. Discussing …show more content…
At the end of my original paper, I mentioned that I was did not feel completely convinced that I made the best decision I could. When talking to my small group during the in-class discussion, I was assured that I did make the best decision I could in that circumstance and that was all I could do. Since that came from someone who had volunteered at Headquarters, I felt better about my choice and the question no longer looms above my head. I do wonder what you would do if you cannot shake the emotions following the ethical dilemma, though. For example, if I would not have talked to my shift partners following the SF call, I think I would still be highly bothered by it today. I know that talking through it with a therapist would be an option, but my therapist is 4 hours away, so for my personal circumstance that would not work. How would you deal with it, then? Or what happens if you go through all the emotion-managing processes and convince yourself you did all you could, but the situation still bothers you? If you are still worried there was some sort of service you would have been able to provide that ethically overpowered the dignity and worth of the person? Those are the questions I still have following the assignment and discussion about ambiguity and emotions with ethical dilemmas. If I
I learned a lot about how to manage ambiguity and emotions relating to ethical dilemmas throughout the process of writing this paper and having an in-class discussion about it. Even though I have not experienced the ethical dilemma that I wrote about, it helped to work through it anyway and really think about how I would handle the situation. It has also helped me think through how to handle emotions from other calls, even if there is not a true ethical dilemma. For example, last week I started taking all calls, and although I have yet to handle a suicide call, I dealt with one that I was dreading – an SF, or sexual fantasy. I did not realize what was happening at first, because the caller started out talking about being an after-school …show more content…
Luckily, that worked. They assured me that it was nothing to be embarrassed about, and one of the ladies had even spoken to an SF caller for a half hour without realizing it during her first SF call. They also told me that, somehow, SF callers know when the new volunteers start working the phones so their calls pick up, but after awhile they will realize the newbies know how to “sniff out” an SF call and they will scale back on frequency. I know this situation is not an ethical dilemma, and has nothing to do with my paper, but I wanted to share how I was able to put this assignment to use at my practicum. When we split into groups for our in-class discussion about our ethical dilemmas, it helped that one of my group members was a previous volunteer at my practicum, so she understood what I was talking about and could offer feedback. She told me that I will experience ethical dilemmas in situations that are not as drastic as the one I talked about in my paper, but the way I worked through it and figured out ways to handle the ambiguity and emotions would work well for the setting I am in. I also found a lot of comfort in going over ways to manage emotions in class, as I feel better capable of handing future situations when I have many different skills in my toolbox. Discussing …show more content…
At the end of my original paper, I mentioned that I was did not feel completely convinced that I made the best decision I could. When talking to my small group during the in-class discussion, I was assured that I did make the best decision I could in that circumstance and that was all I could do. Since that came from someone who had volunteered at Headquarters, I felt better about my choice and the question no longer looms above my head. I do wonder what you would do if you cannot shake the emotions following the ethical dilemma, though. For example, if I would not have talked to my shift partners following the SF call, I think I would still be highly bothered by it today. I know that talking through it with a therapist would be an option, but my therapist is 4 hours away, so for my personal circumstance that would not work. How would you deal with it, then? Or what happens if you go through all the emotion-managing processes and convince yourself you did all you could, but the situation still bothers you? If you are still worried there was some sort of service you would have been able to provide that ethically overpowered the dignity and worth of the person? Those are the questions I still have following the assignment and discussion about ambiguity and emotions with ethical dilemmas. If I