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Profession: Privilege and Obligation
VIEWPOINT
Profession: Privilege and Obligation Leonard D. Fenninger
Professions have long enjoyed special privileges granted to their practitioners by society. This has been in recognition of the functions performed by practitioners in providing essential services to members of the society in the be t interest of the individual who recei ves the professional care. These privileges are balanced by the obligations and responsibilities of the professions and their practitioners to perform the following functions within society: • Develop new, reliable, and reproducible knowledge (research). • Transmit their knowledge and skills through defined educational experiences, which include theory and practice as part of the preparation for professional service. • Apply their knowledge and skills in the timely and compassionate care of those who seek their help. Professions arose as individuals acquired special knowledge and skills that differentiated them from other members of their social groups. Institutions and schools were soon formed to foster development, transmission, and application of this new knowledge. A primary obligation of a member of a
528
profession was the education and training of others who aspired to be practitioners to ensure that those who entered the profession would be qualified to give the service recognized as the responsibility of that profession. These obligations remain as binding on professions today as they were when the professions first evolved. With the growth of scientific information and the rising needs and demands of increasing numbers of individuals throughout the United States-and, indeed, the world-meeting these responsibilities and obligations is requiring different relationships and types of participation' but pharmacy as a profession will continue to serve the public need by fostering research, providing education, and demanding higher standards of performance by its practitioners. As social organizations and institutions increased in complexity, and as needs and demands for professional services grew, it became more difficult for those who needed professional care to determine whether individual practitioners had the required knowledge and skills. Only then did governments become involved in defining minimum
Journal of the American Phannaceutical Association
standards of knowledge and skills required for recognizing the various professions and for determining whether individual practitioners had the requisite knowledge and skills to perform professional services safely and effectively. Public recognition ofindividual professionals has been accomplished in various ways. In the United States, the setting of minimum standards for professional practice and the formal recognition of individuals who meet those standards has become a function of state government. With the enactment of statutes and regulations for licensure and the issuance of licenses to individuals who meet those standards, there has also come the provision of sanctions or penalties against individuals and organizations who fail to continue to meet them. While licensing boards have served the public interest through governmental policies and procedures, the basis of professional standards has been and continues to be standards of education, knowledge, and skills that are developed and maintained by the professions themselves. Boards of pharmacy have an important role in assuring the public that those practicing pharmacy are competent to do so. They may assist in the development of professional education and practice, but laws and regulations are designed primarily for the protection of the public, not for the development of professions. The special knowledge and techniques of pharmacy have evolved from the profession itself and its increasing relationships with the biomed-
ical sciences and other he~lli professions. Legislative and regulatory processes are com. plex, time consuming, andn(X responsive to the developmen: of new knowledge or educa· tional evolution. Improvement in the practict of pharmacy will continueto come through research and education. As knowledge and techniques become increasin~, ly specialized, the profession of pharmacy will recognize individuals with specialized knowledge and skills througn specialty certification. Certifi· cation is now and should remain a responsibility of the profession of pharmacy. It should remain entirely sepa· rate from legal, governmental protection of the public. The profession of pharmacy shoul( continue to improve its contri· butions to our society, which arise through pharmacists' special know ledge and their professional responsibilities and obligations. It should can· tinue to work with governmental agencies and organiza· tions in assuring that licensure standards represent the basis for safe professional practice and that they are fairly applied. It should foster a sense of professional responsi· bility among all phannacists and should assist them in rec· ognizing their privileges and the obligations that those priv, ileges entail. See related Viewpoint article on page 524. Leonard D. F enninger, MD,is a member of the Board of Pharo maceutical Specialties.
September/October 1998
Vol. 38, No';
I
Profession: Privilege and Obligation Leonard D. Fenninger
Professions have long enjoyed special privileges granted to their practitioners by society. This has been in recognition of the functions performed by practitioners in providing essential services to members of the society in the be t interest of the individual who recei ves the professional care. These privileges are balanced by the obligations and responsibilities of the professions and their practitioners to perform the following functions within society: • Develop new, reliable, and reproducible knowledge (research). • Transmit their knowledge and skills through defined educational experiences, which include theory and practice as part of the preparation for professional service. • Apply their knowledge and skills in the timely and compassionate care of those who seek their help. Professions arose as individuals acquired special knowledge and skills that differentiated them from other members of their social groups. Institutions and schools were soon formed to foster development, transmission, and application of this new knowledge. A primary obligation of a member of a
528
profession was the education and training of others who aspired to be practitioners to ensure that those who entered the profession would be qualified to give the service recognized as the responsibility of that profession. These obligations remain as binding on professions today as they were when the professions first evolved. With the growth of scientific information and the rising needs and demands of increasing numbers of individuals throughout the United States-and, indeed, the world-meeting these responsibilities and obligations is requiring different relationships and types of participation' but pharmacy as a profession will continue to serve the public need by fostering research, providing education, and demanding higher standards of performance by its practitioners. As social organizations and institutions increased in complexity, and as needs and demands for professional services grew, it became more difficult for those who needed professional care to determine whether individual practitioners had the required knowledge and skills. Only then did governments become involved in defining minimum
Journal of the American Phannaceutical Association
standards of knowledge and skills required for recognizing the various professions and for determining whether individual practitioners had the requisite knowledge and skills to perform professional services safely and effectively. Public recognition ofindividual professionals has been accomplished in various ways. In the United States, the setting of minimum standards for professional practice and the formal recognition of individuals who meet those standards has become a function of state government. With the enactment of statutes and regulations for licensure and the issuance of licenses to individuals who meet those standards, there has also come the provision of sanctions or penalties against individuals and organizations who fail to continue to meet them. While licensing boards have served the public interest through governmental policies and procedures, the basis of professional standards has been and continues to be standards of education, knowledge, and skills that are developed and maintained by the professions themselves. Boards of pharmacy have an important role in assuring the public that those practicing pharmacy are competent to do so. They may assist in the development of professional education and practice, but laws and regulations are designed primarily for the protection of the public, not for the development of professions. The special knowledge and techniques of pharmacy have evolved from the profession itself and its increasing relationships with the biomed-
ical sciences and other he~lli professions. Legislative and regulatory processes are com. plex, time consuming, andn(X responsive to the developmen: of new knowledge or educa· tional evolution. Improvement in the practict of pharmacy will continueto come through research and education. As knowledge and techniques become increasin~, ly specialized, the profession of pharmacy will recognize individuals with specialized knowledge and skills througn specialty certification. Certifi· cation is now and should remain a responsibility of the profession of pharmacy. It should remain entirely sepa· rate from legal, governmental protection of the public. The profession of pharmacy shoul( continue to improve its contri· butions to our society, which arise through pharmacists' special know ledge and their professional responsibilities and obligations. It should can· tinue to work with governmental agencies and organiza· tions in assuring that licensure standards represent the basis for safe professional practice and that they are fairly applied. It should foster a sense of professional responsi· bility among all phannacists and should assist them in rec· ognizing their privileges and the obligations that those priv, ileges entail. See related Viewpoint article on page 524. Leonard D. F enninger, MD,is a member of the Board of Pharo maceutical Specialties.
September/October 1998
Vol. 38, No';
I