Nurses, physicians, social workers, and other caregivers frequently encounter patient deaths in the course of their professional responsibilities. Although the literature in these fields addresses the cumulative effects of such losses in burnout and vicarious traumatization, scant attention is given to the manifestation of grief in professional caregivers and the strategies available to acknowledge and address the losses experiences in the course of professional practice. This article examines the scholarly literature from a variety of helping professions on anticipated and unanticipated loss, the impact on caregivers' experience of grief, the variables that can compound or complicate the mourning process, and the available resources to assist social workers in processing and integrating patient deaths.

The violation of professional boundaries represents the most troubling of ethics transgressions. Encompassing sexual activities, dual relationships, and poor clinical practices. this area includes not only clearly illegal or unethical behaviors, but also actions that may be unwise only in the context in which they occurred. This article presents the findings of a recent study that examined ethics complaints against social workers and revealed that 56.1% of the cases in which there were violations involved some form of boundary infraction. The body of literature on boundary violations is examined in light of these findings and recommendations are offered for enhancing practitioner education, supervision, and self-awareness to reduce the incidence of these ethics breaches.

The NASW Code of Ethics is intended to serve as a guide for practice and as a statement of professional standards that the public may use to hold social workers accountable for their actions. At times, however, the Code's prescriptions may seem overly general, difficult to apply, or unrealistic in light of the challenges workers face daily. How then is the Code interpreted? What actions by social workers may result in findings of ethics violations? This article reviews earlier research on violations of the NASW Code and reports on a recent study reviewing allegations made against NASW members from 1986 to 1997. The article describes the frequency and types of behaviors that resulted in findings of ethical misconduct and offers suggestions for enhancing practice and reducing exposure to ethics complaints.

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Various bodies and standards regulate social work practice. Social workers can be held accountable by licensure or credentialing boards, by civil and criminal laws, and by various professional organizations to which they belong. NASW considers complaints against its members for violations of the organization's Code of Ethics, yet the average member may know little about the nature and process of such actions. This article describes the professional review process and analyzes the results of a study of ethics cases filed with NASW from 1986 to 1997. This article also describes the parties involved in complaints and violations, the disposition of cases, and the corrective actions required of those who were found in violation of the Code. These research findings are compared with NASW membership data and the results of other studies on malpractice and ethics violations.

Therapeutic practice with sex offenders and similarly ostracized populations presents unique personal, clinical, and professional challenges for clinicians. This article examines four areas of difficulty-treatment efficacy, clinical competence, boundary maintenance, and stigmatizing policies-and reviews ethical and clinical standards for addressing these challenges. Specific recommendations for competent practice, supervision, research, and advocacy are given.