By: Meghan Goodman, BSW, NASW-MD MSW Student Intern, Chair of LGBTQIA2S+ Affirming Committee 

In my experience as an aspiring social worker, an experience some may still consider limited, I have been exposed to many different approaches to the profession. Through both my micro and macro internship placements, I expected the stories of clients and communities to leave the greatest impression on me. And while they certainly have, what has stayed with me just as deeply are the social workers themselves. 

I have valued their mentorship, supervision, honesty, and lived experience within the field. Yet even with this wisdom, the cracks began to show with stories of burnout, frustration, survival mode, and disillusionment. Over time, I began noticing a disconnect between the profession I had studied so intensely and the realities I witnessed in practice. For the last five years, the NASW Code of Ethics has been woven into nearly every aspect of my education. I analyzed it in ethical dilemma papers, referenced it in process recordings, discussed it in classrooms, and reflected on it in weekly supervision. My Introduction to Social Work Professor encouraged us to bookmark the Code on the NASW website, reminding us that it was the foundation of our profession. 

But once I entered real-world practice settings, that foundation suddenly felt harder to find. 

Shadowing, interviewing, and working alongside social workers exposed me to a profession operating in survival mode. The demands of agencies, overwhelming caseloads, systemic barriers, and community needs often pushed social workers into impossible situations where the ideals of the profession seemed secondary to simply getting through the day. In that environment, the Code of Ethics can begin to feel less like a guiding framework and more like a distant suggestion. 

We become jaded. We lose connection to the values that brought us into this work in the first place. We begin assuming the worst. Assuming the worst of clients, coworkers, systems, and communities. What happened to the dignity and worth of all persons, the importance of human relationships, social justice, and the rest of our core values? Have we become too cynical of the world we live in? Where has that hope gone that got us into this profession in the beginning? 

As a new social worker entering the field, adjusting to this reality to be difficult. I went from discussing the Code in every classroom to rarely hearing it mentioned in these social work settings. The contrast was striking. It left me questioning how a profession so deeply rooted in values could become so disconnected from them in practice.  

That perspective began to shift after attending the NASW National Conference. Hearing from President-Elect Karen Bullock, PhD, LICSW, and CEO Anthony Estreet, PhD, MBA, LICSW, reignited something in me. Their words reminded me that social work is still a profoundly unique profession, one grounded not just in services or systems, but in humanity, dignity, and advocacy. 

During the conference’s AI plenary session, Dr. Estreet emphasized the importance of reconnecting to our purpose as social workers. That message stayed with me long after the conference ended. Because perhaps that is what many of us are truly searching for. The reason we entered this profession.  

The Code of Ethics was never meant to exist only in textbooks or classrooms. It was meant to live within our daily practice, even when the work becomes difficult. Especially when the work becomes difficult. As I continue my journey in this profession, I hope to hold onto that reminder that social work is not simply about surviving the system, but about continuously striving to practice with integrity, compassion, and purpose. Returning to the Code may not solve every challenge our profession faces, but it may help us rediscover the heart of why we chose this work to begin with.