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Subject:Re: Certification From:wburns -at- MICRON -dot- COM Date:Tue, 26 Dec 1995 12:25:56 MDT
Robert Plamondon notes how doctors and lawyers have benefited from their
certification processes:
>* Greatly increased average personal income by restricting the number
> of new entrants to the profession.
>* The protection of incompetent members through a decertification process
> that makes it far easier to absolve than to punish.
>* The fostering of a lofty, godlike stature in the eyes of the public
> through a combination of good P.R. and the relentless sweeping under
> the rug of all unseemly happenings.
>* Massive power at the governmental lobbying level, which leads to
> protection and patronage.
>* An arrangement by which most of the work is done by low-paid uncertified
> workers and virtually unpaid apprentices (i.e., nurses, med students,
> and interns), leaving the certified people ample time for leisure.
I think a bit more care should be taken when we make such comments about
other professions. In addition to being personally offended by such comments
(since my father is a very hard-working child psychiatrist and pediatrician),
I think it reflects poorly on us as professionals to make such
overgeneralizations
about members of other professions. I know other members of the medical
profession who are not motivated by such benefits, nor do they have the leisure
time
or political clout suggested here. I could probably find numerous specific
examples
of abuse and ignorance in many professions, including many that require no
certification at all.
Certification in many cases has caused problems for some medical
professionals because it makes them ineligible for some continuing educational
opportunities. From a philosophical standpoint, it also forces them to
adhere to a specific, publicly ratified perspective on health and ethical issues
pertaining to medicine. The benefits for more humanitarian-minded members of
that profession are also quite dubious. They have to pay quite extensive
insurance
premiums to cover pro bono work, aside from the already exorbitant fees they pay
to cover their practices.
From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=====
+ Bill Burns +
+ Assembly Training and Documentation Supervisor +
+ WBURNS -at- MICRON -dot- COM +
From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=====
Stop plate tectonics!
From ??? -at- ??? Sun Jan 00 00:00:00 0000=====
