PROFESSIONS AND THE PROFESSIONAL CULTURE

Question 1

Definition of Profession

Answer 1

the root is professio or “declaration”.

A skill or realm of knowledge; that which is avowed or professed

Question 2

Access to a profession has been historically based on what?

Answer 2

On an individual’s capacity to demonstrate skill, knowledge and competence in a defined field of endeavour.

Question 3

The rise of regulated occupations and professions is tied to what?

Answer 3

changing societyal structures related to an increased reliance on science, technology, and accumulated knowledge, and a move away from tradition.

Question 4

Differentiating professions first began with which occupations?

Answer 4

1) First, religious occupations and the military
2) then law and medicine
3) Then trade guilds through formalized programs, their capacity to train, regulate entry, and the advancements of rates of remuneration

Question 5

What is a cornerstone of self-regulated professions?

Answer 5

The protection of the public interest.

Self-regulated professions regulate the profession for the benefit of the public.

Question 6

What were the first regulated occupations in Canada?

Answer 6

• Establishment of law societies (Quebec 1765, Upper Canada 1797 with full self-regulation in 1857, Nova Scotia 1825, New Brunswick 1846, BC 1884, Alberta 1907)
• Medicine was next with Medical Board of Canada 1818, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Lower Canada 1847, College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario 1869
• Provinces continued to provide for the regulation of professions throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries: Dentists, Pharmacists, Land Surveyors, Architects, Engineers, Accountants

Question 7

By establishing regulating authorities, provincial governments have granted to these professional bodies through legislation the power to what?

Answer 7

• grant the appropriate practice certification,
• to set required educational and training standards,
• to control the access to the field of practice,
• to regulate the activities of the profession,
• to establish standards of competent and ethical practice, and
• to formally sanction any practitioner who failed to uphold such standards.

Question 8

Legislative regulation of a body is usually achieved through what legislation?

Answer 8

• right to title or right to practice legislation

Question 9

What is right to title legislation?

Answer 9

grants exclusive rights to the use of a professional title, credential, or designation only to those who have met the qualifications set out by the body governed by the legislation.

Question 10

What is right to practice legislation?

Answer 10

reserves particular acts solely to qualified members of the groups.

As an example, members of provincial law societies are the only persons permitted to practice law in its entirety.

Some exceptions are made that permit specialists who are not lawyers to provide legal advice within the field of their competence, as long as they do not hold themselves out as lawyers

Question 11

What government(s) in Canada hold the authority to regulate trades and professions?

Answer 11

Provincial and Territorial Governments

Question 12

What is the most common approach to the regulation of the practice of professionals in most jurisdictions?

Answer 12

Self-regulation

Question 13

Why is self-regulation the most common approach to the regulation of the practice of professionals in most jurisdictions?

Answer 13

Provides governments with the opportunity for the oversight of professions without the requirement for the administrative infrastructure needed for direct regulation.

Question 14

What is the most common model used in Canada for establishing a professional body?

Answer 14

Through the enacting of legislation which sets out the specific legal authority transferred to the profession’s regulatory body by government.

Question 15

What is the basis for the transfer of authority by government to the profession’s regulatory body?

Answer 15

a requirement that the public is protected from harm caused by incompetent or unethical conduct by members of the profession.

Self-regulation is therefore for protection of the public interest and not solely for the benefit of the professional member or the profession as a grouping.

Question 16

What are self-regulating professional bodies expected to do?

Answer 16

• set education and certification standards for entry to the field of practice
• establish ethical codes and standards for competent practice
• ongoing professional development
• to maintain a listing or Register available to the public of all members meeting certification requirements
• set rules for the conduct of members and to enforce those standards through the application of disciplinary processes and sanctions (if merited) ranging from fines, to mandated programs of re-education, to removal of the roster of members

Question 17

What are the three main forms or levels of regulation in use in Canada?

Answer 17

Licensing, certification, and registration

Question 18

Describe the licensure form of regulation

Answer 18

provides an occupational group with virtual monopoly in terms of who can practice in the specified professional domain. Entry into the profession requires completion of a specific program of academic study, a defined period of work experience, and the satisfactory completion of a licensing examination

those meeting the requirements are issued a license to engage in practice and/or to perform certain controlled acts

Question 19

Describe the certification form of regulation

Answer 19

Can provide for the monopoly use of a specific professional designation or “reserved title”. Those granted the designation have met a defined set of certification requirements.

As with licensing, certification affords protection to the public by making transparent the qualification requirements met by a practitioner holding the designation.

Unlike licensing however, certification does not prohibit any individual not holding the reserved title or designation from practicing within the professional field.

Question 20

Describe the registration form of regulation

Answer 20

The essential requirement for membership in a registered occupational group is to be listed on a register maintained and sanctioned by the specified body. This is the least stringent form of regulation.

Question 21

What is the current legislative regime in BC for Planners?

Answer 21

PIBC governed by the Society Act. Provides right to title but not right to practice.

Question 22

What would the planning profession need to do to move to licensure of planners?

Answer 22

Profession would need to demonstrate clearly how the public needs protection from the potentially serious consequences of unethical or incompetent conduct by those engaged in the planning field of practice

Question 23

What does Ernest Greenwood’s study “Elements of Professionalization” (1966) set out that professions must have?

Answer 23

1) a basis of systematic theory
2) authority recognized by the clientele of the professional group
3) Broader community sanction and approval of that authority
4) a code of ethics regulating relations of professional persons with clients and colleagues
5) a professional culture sustained by a formal professional association

Question 24

What is the required criteria of a profession as identified by Wasserman, Sullivan, and Palermo?

Answer 24

1) A university level education in a special area of knowledge that is central to the profession
2) Internship and supervised entry-level performance in order to demonstrate competence in the practical application of that knowledge
3) Knowledge and practices that require the unique exercise of learned judgement for each new situation (rather that applied technical knowledge)
4) Establishment of disciplinary identity and uniqueness of the professional group through the establishment of professional organizations, journals, systems of education, and standards for certification of licensing
5) Autonomy earned by the profession and recognized and granted by society through government, in defining and mastering the knowledge and practice of the profession, resulting in self-policing with regard to the standards of practice and ethical conduct
6) Having the knowledge and expertise necessary for protecting the well-being of persons in society

Question 25

What specific attributes characterize professions?

Answer 25

1) responsible acknowledgement of a special duty to society
2) expertise described by the body of abstract theoretical knowledge they possess
3) identify as a reflection of the professional member’s unique standing in society
4) competence and sound judgement through ongoing currency in their field of practice
5) vocational ethic making explicitly the values and obligations that form the foundation of the profession
6) integrity expressed as the unconditional and steadfast commitment to a principled approach to meeting their obligations while being responsible and accountable for their actions

Question 26

Being a professional means what?

Answer 26

• Being a person of integrity
• being honest
• avoiding deception and adhering to high ethical standards
• Integrity insists that actions be consistent with established codes of conduct and professional values
• Integrity specifically requires transparency in actions, speaking, and acting with honesty and candor, and a dedication to fairness and justice.