Professional Regulation (professional + regulation)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Dental hygiene regulation: a global perspective

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF DENTAL HYGIENE, Issue 3 2008
PM Johnson
Abstract:, Occupational regulation of health personnel is important to professional associations and their members, the public that relies on their services and the regulatory agencies responsible for their conduct. There is increasing interest in ensuring that dental hygiene regulation fosters the continuing evolution of the profession and its contribution to oral health. The keynote address for the 2007 Regulatory Forum on Dental Hygiene, this paper discusses the rationale for and issues pertaining to occupational regulation, outlines the evolvement of dental hygiene and identifies regulatory options for the profession. Professional regulation exists to ensure public safety, health and welfare. However, negative political-economic side effects coupled with environmental pressures have resulted in increased scrutiny for health professionals. One such profession is dental hygiene. Its evolution has been dramatic, in particular over the past few decades, as illustrated by its rapidly increasing numbers and broader distribution globally, gradual shift to the baccalaureate as the entry-level educational requirement and increase in postgraduate programs and expanding scope of practice and increased professional autonomy. Regulatory changes have been more gradual. Regulation is mandatory for the vast majority of dental hygienists. Of the options available, the practice act , the most rigorous type, is predominant. Globally, regulation tends to be administered directly by the government (n = 9 countries) more so than indirectly through a dental board (n = 4) or self-regulation (n = 3). Whether regulated directly or indirectly, dental hygienists increasingly are seeking a greater role in shaping their professional future. Self-regulation, its responsibilities, misperceptions and challenges, is examined as an option. [source]


Stoma coloproctology nurse specialist: a case study

JOURNAL OF CLINICAL NURSING, Issue 6 2007
Ursula Chaney DPSN
Aims and objectives., The aim of this paper is to provide insight into the role of a Stoma Coloproctology Nurse Specialist. This paper presents the findings of an in-depth case study of a stoma coloproctology nurse specialist employed in one health board area in Northern Ireland. This case study was part of a larger study exploring innovative nursing and midwifery roles in Northern Ireland. Background., Specialist nursing roles have evolved and developed in response to changing health care needs, patient expectations, changes in professional regulation and government initiatives. Design., A case study approach was adopted. Method., Semi-structured interviews with the post holder (PH), her line manager and the human resource manager were undertaken. Non-participant observation of the PH's practice was also carried out. Analysis was undertaken on secondary data such as job specification, annual reports and other documentation relating to the post. Results., Findings illustrate the PH's function and the impact of the role on patient care. Examples of innovative practices relating to providing care, support and guidance for patients and their families were identified; however, limitations to her role were also identified. Conclusions., The PH provides an invaluable service to patients, demonstrating a positive impact on care. However, the findings suggest the importance of establishing clear role boundaries, which may lead to professional growth and practice development. Relevance to clinical practice., Although this study provides a valuable insight into the role of a Stoma Coloproctology Nurse Specialist a number of challenges exist, as the CNS role requires policy and appropriate educational preparation to practice at an advanced level. Further research investigating the development of the CNS role in the clinical setting and its relationship to members of the multi-professional team would be beneficial. [source]


Doctors' professional values: results from a cohort study of United Kingdom medical graduates

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 8 2001
Lorelei Cooke
Objectives To examine young doctors' views on a number of professional issues including professional regulation, multidisciplinary teamwork, priority setting, clinical autonomy and private practice. Method Postal survey of 545 doctors who graduated from United Kingdom medical schools in 1995. Results Questionnaires were returned by 95% of the cohort (515/545). On issues of professional regulation, teamwork and clinical autonomy, the majority of doctors held views consistent with current General Medical Council guidance. The majority supported the right of doctors working in the NHS to engage in private practice. Most respondents thought that public expectations of doctors, medicine and the NHS were too high, and that some form of rationing was inevitable. On many issues there was considerable variation in attitudes on the basis of sex and intended branch of medicine. Conclusions The results highlight the heterogeneity of the profession and the influence of specialty and gender on professional values. Doctors' attitudes had also been shaped by broader social changes, especially debates surrounding regulation of the profession, rising public expectations and the need for rationing of NHS care. [source]


School psychology's significant discrepancy: Historical perspectives on personnel shortages

PSYCHOLOGY IN THE SCHOOLS, Issue 4 2004
Thomas K. Fagan
Accurately describing personnel shortages is difficult in the absence of reliable sources and with problems defining terms. Despite periods when employment opportunities were limited, it appears there has never been a time when the supply of school psychologists was sufficient to meet the demand. Recent personnel shortages follow a period of several decades in which the overall growth of the field surged upward. Among the factors to explain recent shortages is an inverse relationship between professional regulation and the supply of future school psychologists in training. The shortage is predicted to continue indefinitely. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 419,430, 2004. [source]


Profession: A Useful Concept for Sociological Analysis?

CANADIAN REVIEW OF SOCIOLOGY/REVUE CANADIENNE DE SOCIOLOGIE, Issue 1 2010
TRACEY L. ADAMS
Il a toujours été problématique de conceptualiser les professions puisque les caractéristiques professionnelles varient beaucoup dans le temps et dans l'espace. Cet article analyse les façons selon lesquelles les professions et les occupations ont été délimitées historiquement dans la législation. Un regard sur la réglementation professionnelle de cinq provinces canadiennes antérieure à 1961 dénombre environ 36 groupes professionnels distincts. L'auteure croit qu'une meilleure compréhension s'appuyant sur la recherche empirique de ce qu'étaient les professions par le passé aidera à conceptualiser et à faire avancer la recherche actuelle sur les professions. Particulièrement importantes sont les considérations sur la qualité de même que sur la structure des relations d'emploi avec les autres groupes professionnels, le public et l'État. Conceptualizing professions has traditionally been problematic because professional characteristics vary across time and place. This paper explores the ways in which professions and occupations were historically demarcated through legislation. A look at professional regulation in five Canadian provinces before 1961 reveals approximately 36 distinct professional groups. I argue that developing a more accurate, empirically based understanding of what professions were in the past will help us conceptualize and advance research on professions in the present. Particularly salient are considerations of status, as well as the structuring of occupations' relations with other occupational groups, the public, and the state. [source]


Auditor Independence: A Comparative Descriptive Study of the UK, France and Italy

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF AUDITING, Issue 2 2002
Joanna E. Stevenson
The independence of the external auditor has long been a subject of great debate, particularly by UK and US interested parties. With the growth and globalisation of the large multi-disciplinary firms, it has again been pushed to the fore: new ethical guidance issued by international bodies such as La Fédération des Experts- Comptables Européens (FEE) and The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the activities of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Independence Standards Board in the US have encouraged a wider consideration of the issue. In Europe, the European Commission has issued a Consultative Paper containing fundamental principles for adoption into Member States' own regulation on statutory auditor independence. Increasing pressure for the removal of obstacles to a single European audit market have resulted in safeguards of auditor independence in some countries being described as undesirable barriers. This paper considers the issue of statutory auditor independence across three EU Member States: the UK, France and Italy, by comparing the ethical guides and the legal and professional regulations in place, highlighting and discussing areas of divergence, and contrasting them with the EC's Consultative Paper. It takes into account factors such as culture and the historical development of auditing in order to explore the differences found. The paper demonstrates that positions taken in France and Italy on the issue of auditor independence differ markedly from that taken by the UK profession. Of the three countries reviewed, the UK viewpoint has most obviously influenced the drafting of the EC Paper. The implications of these variances for EU harmonisation are discussed, and the paper concludes that there is a clear need for empirical study of this important issue in Europe to better understand the reasons for differing perceptions and attitudes, and the repercussions of these differences on the process of European audit harmonisation. [source]