Ethics Autobiography

Personal Reflection as a Gerontologist

Back on my street, in my early days of budding interest in gerontology as a course of discipline

where I was amazed usually by the numbers of old persons on my street. I have counted, at
different times, an average of ten older adults a day, and it became a source of curiosity and
interest how these people evolve. In many of these different times of my counting, I have
watched their actions, keenly paid attention to every little detail I could, asked questions as a
child about the wrinkles of their bodies and how they grow into redundancy. These experiences
as a child have spurred my curiosity and interest as a gerontologist and have shaped my approach
towards this discipline. I have grown to question more and always yearn to find answers to many
of my unanswered questions.

As a gerontologist with a significant pursuit of continually increased knowledge of the aging

processes, the extended researches on the best approaches to handling and caring for elders and
unearthing the unapparent about aging, older adults, and the multi-faceted causes and
consequences. It is a line of duty to keep finding answers to better care for the increasing
population of older adults and creating solutions to problems related to aging and older adults –
problems that could range from biological, socioeconomic, psychological, and even
physiological.

A value system integrates principles, ideas, and values that give direction and guidance on who a
person is. A value system typically reflects the character of a person. This system, ordinarily,
shapes the form of vocation one takes, how one reacts to situations, one's decision-making
pattern, and describes who a person is. After several self-evaluations in relation to my line of
discipline, I have realized that a person will only act guided by their value system with less
regard to a set of rules, regulations, or principles guiding their activities in any discipline. I
believe that these personal core values have more weight in determining how a person delivers
his duty. For example, I have a personal principle of prioritising accountability and integrity in
my dealings, my vocation inclusive. As a gerontologist, I have worked towards being
accountable to myself and the set of principles guiding our profession and placed my integrity in
high regard. I do not engage in any activity that mars my integrity and spells me out otherwise.
My value system has affected my service delivery as a gerontologist as it has always fuelled my

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curiosity. I'm not particularly eager to compromise my interest, work, and delivery. I would turn
down a job or anything related if it does not align with me upholding my integrity.

Being A Professional

In my understanding, one cannot become a professional by bagging degrees in any discipline

alone. Being a professional has a more far-reaching responsibility to be met. Knowledge is a
prerequisite to being a professional, no doubt but not satisfying to be accepted as one. Being
professional concerns an overall ability of a person to have the required skills and knowledge,
practice the profession, and abide by every guiding rule. A person is only a professional when he
practices his profession to a high standard of performance, integrity, and public service, having
made a public commitment.

I am afraid I will not disagree that a professional is saddled with more moral responsibilities
beyond what is generally thought of as morality. Discerning between good and bad or wrong and
right is what morality is concerned with. Still, as professionals of differing disciplines, more
responsibilities are attached to the occupational responsibility of delivering services. The
activities and the decisions made by professionals must be guided by standards beyond morality [
CITATION Dav91 \l 1033 ].

There are moral responsibilities that a professional owes to his immediate society, workplace,
and other personnel. As a gerontologist and a professional, it is pertinent to exercise one duty
according to what is accepted and judged as right and morally responsible. Exercising duties
with no regard to the moral responsibilities attached to being a professional comes with
repercussions that might be judged as morally irresponsible; thus, affecting one's service delivery
as a professional.

Purpose of Code of Ethics

A Code of ethics is a guideline that governs the behaviours and decisions of professionals in a
particular profession. It outlines the ethical and acceptable behaviours and decisions for
professionals. Humans, without rules, tend to be unruly and delinquent. It is pertinent to be a set
of guidelines and rules to guide the conduct of activities in every profession, and thus, the code
of ethics is essentially required. Code of ethics sets a standard for the professionalism that must
be adhered to be genuinely referred to as a professional. Like other professions, the gerontologist

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code of ethics establishes the concepts and ethical norms that guide professional gerontologists'
obligations and actions [ CITATION Nat20 \l 1033 ] . The code of ethics serves as normative
statements for gerontologists and guides challenges that they may face in their job.

The cornerstone of members' shared expectations is the code of ethics, which outlines what ties
members together as a profession. Members are always delighted to be a part of an organization
that provides a structure and set of standards for their field. It also serves as a "seal of approval"
for individuals outside the field who require or use the service of a profession. As I have learned,
the primary purpose of the code of ethics is to set the best practices for professionals and serve as
a watchdog for the profession. It promotes trust, ethical behaviour, integrity, and excellence.

How to Think Ethically

Dealing with moral dilemmas can be challenging. What is the best way to think about an ethical
dilemma? What kinds of questions should we be asking? What considerations should we take
into account? Making excellent ethical decisions necessitates a trained awareness of ethical
issues and a thinking process for investigating the ethical aspects of a decision and considering
the factors that should influence the conclusion. It is critical to have a process for making ethical
decisions. When we use the procedure regularly, it becomes so instinctive that we don't need to
refer to the precise stages [ CITATION Vel15 \l 1033 ].

To think ethically, one must always consider factors that influence one decision, including the
code of ethics, the outcome, the affected parties, and the moral jurisdiction of such a decision.
Thinking critically, we must try to find facts on the situation, which tells what is and not what
ought to. It is pertinent to resolve ethical issues by appealing to values. There are different
philosophies of value that deal with a decision, such as utilitarianism, the virtue approach, the
common good approach, the rights approach, the justice or fairness approach. These philosophies
have different ways of approaching ethical decision-making.

How Gerontology Impacted Me

As a line of duty, gerontology has been personal since I discovered older adults on my street
while growing up. I have loved to, as a child then, think of how best to maintain their wrinkle,
ease their shopping activities, provide economic assistance and help them live better even at old
age. Getting into this discipline, an option carefully chosen, has exposed me to the realities of

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aging – biological, psychological, and socioeconomic aspects of it. I have learnt to understand
every phase of human growth and transition into old age. Because of their complexity, the stories
underlying older people's health and the systems that care for them have piqued my curiosity
throughout my life. I've been exposed to the realization that older adults are survivors who adapt
and cope with the trials of everyday life.

There is always a dilemma in some cases of what is morally accepted as right or wrong when
placed sides with professional ethics. I cannot deny that the basis of professional judgement is
the societal moral structure. Nonetheless, what is accepted as right or wrong stems down in
professionalism is what is acknowledged as right or wrong in the code of ethics and, to a large
extent, doesn't disagree with either common sense and morality. When faced with a dilemma, it's
critical to think about who will be affected by the decision and what will happen due to the
decision. This, in a way, gives clarity to what is right to do and what is not.

The conception of right and wrong originate from the normative statements of code of ethics that
guide me as a professional. I believe the principles and guidelines in the code of ethics are the
best forms of exercising one duty as a professional. And when there is an ethical issue, my
judgement of right and wrong is attached to the situation at hand, including considering the
outcome of my decision; if it badly affects someone else, I assume it is a wrong decision.

It has been a personal interest to emulate integrity, compassion, and discipline. And with an
aligning professional code of ethics that emulates these values, my work as a gerontologist has
been found to align with my personality in more than one way. Based on values, I share a
personal value collection with my profession, gerontology, as it embraces the same set of values
as I do.

In addition, gerontology, a study of the aging process and the aged, has ticked my choice in
helping to satisfy the curiosity I yearned for since my discovery of the average number of elders
on my street.

Conclusion

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As a gerontologist, the fulfilment of my duty is to see more older adults get needed assistance
and care. The professional duty is to widen the scope of knowledge while finding sustainable
solutions to the issues of aging. It is also important for us to stick to the ethical methods of
carrying out our professional assignments. Being a gerontologist has impacted more values and
even strengthen my identity as a person and a gerontologist.

References
Davis, M. (1991). Thinking Like an Engineer: The Place of a Code of Ethics in the Practice of a
Profession. Princeton University Press. Retrieved from:
http://ethics.iit.edu/teaching/professional-ethics.

National Association for Professional Gerontologists. (2020). Code of Ethics. Retrieved from
napgerontologists.org: http://www.napgerontologists.org/code_of_ethics.html

Velasquez, M., Andre, C., Shanks, T., J., S., & Meyer, M. J. (2015). Thinking Ethically.
Markulla Centre for Applied Ethics, Retrieved from: https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-
resources/ethical-decision-making/thinking-ethically/.