There have been a lot of changes concerning ethical codes in assessments as the American Psychological Association published its first code of ethics in 1953. Assessments are conducted by practitioners who use measurement techniques and various tests in evaluation. Conducting an assessment is essential in a person's life because it determines the direction of one's treatment, which can change the course of a person's life. Practitioners conducting an assessment must strictly follow and adhere to the ethical rules and guidelines.
By the 1960s, many of the assessments conducted on people were full of bias and lack of accuracy that raised many problems with the assessment tools (Meiring, Schlebusch & Lowman, 2016) . During that period, there were no strict regulations on assessment, and very few assessment tools were available. Therefore, the practitioners were forced to conduct treatment on patients without an assessment process, which is wrong according to the ethical codes of conduct. Also, the high level of poverty during that period forced many patients to seek treatment from the local and traditional doctors who conducted treatment without assessment because the patients could not afford the expensive medical insurance.
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Many issues would arise if the practitioners did not consider assessments as an essential part of the treatment process. For example, a patient is likely to be misdiagnosed due to lack of practitioners getting information from the patient concerning their medical history (Meiring, Schlebusch & Lowman, 2016) . As a result, the patient's quality of life is compromised, affecting their quality of life. Additionally, the practitioners will take advantage of the situation by acting on their own will and not considering the ethical rules and guidelines. Hence, consequences such as medical malpractices may cause negligence and not providing appropriate treatment that causes both physical, psychological harm, and even death to the patient.
Health practitioners must adhere to ethics and ethical codes while assessing to avoid causing any harm to a person, both psychological and physical damage.
Practitioners must conduct an assessment before conducting treatment so that they can be able to identify the underlying health problem of the patient. Assessments help patients by getting the best treatment option, avoid issues with misdiagnosis, and generally improve their quality of life. Managing the health issues at an earlier time is vital in preventing severe health problems that may occur as a result of negligence in conducting assessments.
Reference
Meiring, D., Schlebusch, S., & Lowman, R. L. (2016). A code of Ethics for Assessment Centre Practice. In the 36th Annual Assessment Centre Study Group of South Africa Conference, Somerset West, South Africa .
