| Course | MSW 541 Social Work Practice Foundation |
|---|---|
| Week | 2 |
| Paper type | Values inventory |
| Length | About 490 words, 5 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Chamberlain University |
| Program | Master of Social Work (MSW) |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for MSW 541 Week 2
Values Inventory Tested Before It Is Listed: Four Values I Hold, What Each One Forbids Me to Do, One Real Collision in My Second Week and a Rule I Could Be Held To
Student Name
Chamberlain University
MSW 541: Social Work Practice Foundation
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Values Inventory Tested Before It Is Listed: Four Values I Hold, What Each One Forbids Me to Do, One Real Collision in My Second Week and a Rule I Could Be Held To
The Test
A value counts in this inventory only if it forbids me to do something. If a value permits everything, it is a preference.
Value 1: Dignity and Worth of the Person
Forbids: speaking about clients in the break room in ways I would not say in front of them; making a client wait while I finish a personal call. Code reference: the value of dignity and worth (National Association of Social Workers, 2021).
Value 2: Self-Determination
Forbids: deciding for a capable adult what goal we work on, or withholding options because I think one is better. The Code allows limits only for actions that threaten serious harm that is both foreseeable and close at hand.
Value 3: Integrity
Forbids: documenting a contact I did not make, or describing a session more favorably than it went because my field instructor will read it.
Forbids also: rounding a session length up to the next billing unit, even when the difference is a few minutes and no one would notice.
Value 4: Competence
Forbids: offering a treatment I have not been trained in, even when a client asks. At my placement, that includes trauma-focused work, which I refer to a licensed clinician.
One Real Collision
In my second week, V., 28, a client with depression, asked me to write a letter to V.'s landlord saying V. was "in treatment and doing great," to stop an eviction. Dignity and service pulled me toward writing it; integrity forbade calling V. "doing great" when V. had attended two sessions and was still struggling. I wrote a letter confirming that V. was attending weekly counseling, with V.'s written consent, and nothing more. V. was disappointed.
A Rule I Could Be Held To
I will not put anything in writing about a client that I would not read aloud to that client. My field instructor can check this by asking me to read any letter or note to the client concerned.
The rule is narrow on purpose. A broad rule such as "always be honest" cannot be checked; a rule about letters and notes can be tested any week by picking one document at random.
Where the Code Is Cited
The four values come from the Code's six core values; I left out social justice and the importance of human relationships here, not because they matter less, but because I have not yet tested them against a real case.
References
National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English
The Chamberlain MSW 541 Week 2 instructions
The values inventory begins with a test, so that a value counts only if it does real work. A useful test is whether the value forbids you to do something specific. Then list a small number of values, each with what it forbids in your setting. Describe one real collision between two of your values, from your placement if possible, and how you resolved it, including what the resolution cost. End with a rule you could be held to, phrased so that a supervisor could check it. Cite the Code where a value comes from it, and say why you left any core values out. The order does not have to follow the Code's order.
How the MSW 541 Week 2 example is put together
The test section defines a value as something that forbids an action. Four values follow with what each forbids in practice: dignity forbids talking about clients in ways the writer would not say to them, self-determination forbids deciding a capable adult's goal, integrity forbids overstating a session in notes and competence forbids offering untrained treatments. The collision section describes V.'s request for a landlord letter saying V. was doing great, the conflict between service and integrity and the limited letter written with consent. A rule follows: nothing in writing that the writer would not read aloud to the client. A closing note explains which core values from National Association of Social Workers (2021) were left untested.
Reading the MSW 541 Week 2 grading rubric
The test placed before the list earns significant credit because it shows the writer is not simply copying admirable words. Faculty then look at whether each value has a concrete prohibition in the placement setting. The collision carries the most weight: a real conflict between two values, resolved in a way that cost something, shows values in use. A rule that a supervisor could check earns marks for accountability. Citing the Code accurately and explaining omissions shows care. A table can help if each entry is explained in prose. Writers who believe two values are equal should still show what happens when they conflict.
MSW 541 Week 2 help from the desk
The inventory that loses most lists six values with definitions and no prohibitions. Another frequent problem is a collision that is hypothetical, or one resolved so neatly that nothing was lost. Some papers state rules such as I will always respect clients, which no one could check. Others cite the Code for every sentence. If your setting is different, perhaps a school or a hospital, the test still works: ask what each value stops you from doing there. A collision from a first-week shadowing experience is enough if it was real. Close with one rule written so that someone else could tell whether you kept it.
Get a MSW-541 Week 2 example written to your instructions
Send the inventory template your classroom supplies, along with the number of values it wants ranked and any rubric wording about defending the order, and a custom example is built on that exact template and back inside 24 to 48 hours, the first one free. If your section uses a different code edition, name it.
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MSW 541 Week 2 questions, answered
Does the order have to match the code's own order?
No, and matching it is usually the weakest choice available. The code lists its commitments without ranking them, so a classroom asking for an inventory is asking what the writer does when they compete. The example departs from the published order in one place and spends a paragraph justifying that single move, which is where the defense rows are won.
Is a table enough, or does it need an essay too?
Both, in most sections. The table carries the ordering and the one-line prohibitions; the prose carries the test, the collision and the rule. Sections that supply a form usually leave a comment column that is doing the essay's work in miniature, and the example fills it at that scale. Send the form and the balance is matched to it.
What if I genuinely believe two values are equal?
Then say so and give the rule you would use anyway, because practice does not allow a tie. The example holds two commitments as equal in principle and still names which one moves first in a room where both cannot be honored, on grounds it states. Equality asserted without that follow-through reads to a marker as avoidance.
Where can I find a free MSW 541 Week 2 sample paper?
Further down is the full MSW 541 Week 2 values inventory, each value tested by what it forbids, with the landlord letter as the collision.
What collision does the MSW 541 Week 2 sample describe?
A client's request for a landlord letter saying the client was doing great, where service pulled toward writing it and integrity forbade overstating progress, resolved with a consent-based letter confirming attendance only.