Members Of Other Professions Research Articles

Interprofessional collaboration: A survey of Canadian psychologists and psychiatrists.

A biopsychosocial approach to mental health necessitates the integration of different perspectives into client care and requires that professionals from different disciplines be able and willing to collaborate with one another. The authors conducted an Internet survey of Canadian psychologists (n = 1,040) and psychiatrists (n = 247) about their experiences in collaboration between the two professions. The sample included both autonomous professionals and those in training. The majority of respondents described themselves as being at least moderately familiar with the training and professional activities of the other profession, although a minority reported little or no familiarity. Most autonomous professionals reported that they became familiar with the other profession through consultation around specific cases. Respondents also learned about interprofessional collaboration through formal learning opportunities. However, almost two thirds of trainees who responded to the survey reported that they had no opportunities to put into practice what they had learned about the other profession. Recommendations for increased training opportunities are presented. Keywords: interprofessional, collaboration, training, consultation Canada has a substantial unmet need for mental health services. Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey indicate that one in five Canadians will experience a mental health problem or disorder in their lifetime (Health Canada, 2002). Increasing awareness of the extent of mental disorder in Canada has been paralleled by the sobering realisation that many Canadians in need of mental health care do not have access to appropriate professional help, with only one third of those who require mental health services actually receiving them (Canadian Mental Health Association, 201 1; Statistics Canada, 2003). The economic toll of mental disorder in Canada, which includes use of health resources, lower productivity, as well as reductions in health-related quality of life reached $5 1 billion in 2003 (Lim, Jacobs, Ohinmaa, Schopflocher, & Dewa, 2008). Symptoms of mental disorders are often evident early in life. At any given time, almost one in six Canadian children experience a mental disorder that disrupts their functioning in multiple domains; untreated, many symptoms persist into adulthood; however, only 25% of these children in need receive any services (Waddell, Hua, Garland, Peters, & McEwan, 2007). Globally, there is concern that, within the mental health servicedelivery system, the efforts of different professionals working in the community are fragmented and uncoordinated (World Health Organization, 2009). A biopsychosocial model of mental health necessitates examining mental health concerns from different perspectives, taking into account biological, psychological, and social factors, which may influence an individual's mental health. This integration of different perspectives into client care necessitates that professionals from different disciplines be able and willing to collaborate with one another. The Canadian Collaborative Mental Health Initiative (CCMHI) focused attention on ways to foster links between primary health care and mental health service providers (Gagne, 2005). Thus, there is every reason to believe that to optimize benefits to the public, mental health service providers must be willing to collaborate with members of other professions and be competent to manage interdisciplinary collaboration. The accreditation of professional programs in psychology requires that students learn to work interprofessionally through the course of their programs (Canadian Psychological Association, 201 1). Furthermore, consultation with other professions is seen as a core competence for professional psychologists (Parent & Begin, 2010). Similarly, the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada (RCPSC, 2005) defined collaboration as one of the seven core competencies needed for medical education and practice. …

Let’s Be Nice

You have accessThe ASHA LeaderInbox1 Nov 2011Let’s Be Nice Linda D. Vallino Linda D. Vallino Google Scholar More articles by this author https://doi.org/10.1044/leader.IN1.16142011.2 SectionsAbout ToolsAdd to favorites ShareFacebookTwitterLinked In http://www.asha.org/Publications/leader/2011/111122/Readers-Respond--November-22,-2011.htm ASHA special interest group listservs offer an invaluable means to facilitate dialogue among colleagues. Clinicians not familiar with managing low-incidence disorders look for expertise offered by fellow clinicians who perhaps have more experience. I look forward with great interest when I receive a listserv message. Quite often the response is thoughtful and clinically helpful...but not always. On more than one occasion, I have read flip, discourteous, and unprofessional comments to those who are making a sincere effort to obtain or offer assistance. Sometimes a comment begets other unkind responses. This belittling behavior is made at the expense of our well-intentioned colleagues. It distracts from achieving our goal, which is to assist our clients and extend knowledge to our peers. This is not how we treat our clients, family, and friends and I do not wish our colleagues to be treated this way. Regardless of how we view a treatment strategy or comment about a diagnostic procedure, we need to acknowledge that these clinicians are acting out of a sincere effort to participate in best care; and if we disagree, I urge clinicians to provide a response that is insightful, evidence-based, polite, and professional. First and foremost, our discussions should always benefit our clients. The ASHA Code of Ethics states, “Individuals shall honor their responsibilities to the professions and their relationships with colleagues, students, and members of other professions and disciplines.” We should welcome any and all comments from our colleagues without judgment and embarrassment. Let’s be nice. Linda D. Vallino Wilmington, Delaware Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Advertising Disclaimer | Advertise With Us Additional Resources FiguresSourcesRelatedDetails Volume 16Issue 14November 2011 Get Permissions Add to your Mendeley library History Published in print: Nov 1, 2011 Metrics Downloaded 47 times Topicsasha-topicsleader_do_tagleader-topicsasha-article-typesCopyright & Permissions© 2011 American Speech-Language-Hearing AssociationLoading ...

The divergent approaches of English and South African courts, when considering actuarial expert testimony in the matter of an award for damages for future loss of earnings after a damage-causing event

AbstractThis paper analyses the driving forces behind the willingness of South African courts to hear actuarial expert testimony in even the most simple of cases, in contrast to the more circumspect approach of the English courts, when assessing the damages arising out of future loss of earnings following a damage-causing incident. The analysis may well add insight to members of other professions and scientific communities that provide expert testimony to the courts. It is argued that English substantive law of damages and those influenced by its application have something to gain from a consideration of the approach in South Africa.

International contributions of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists: Voices from abroad.

Jean L. Pettifor University of Calgary Alfred Allan Edith Cowan University Fred Seymour University of Auckland Ann D. Watts Psychological Society of South Africa, Capetown, South Africa Andrea Ferrero San Luis University Laura Hernandez-Guzman Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico An-Magritt Aanonson and Torleiv Odland Norsk Psykologforening Yesim Korkut Bahcesehir University Kenneth Pope Norwalk, Connecticut In this article, eight psychologists from different parts of the world (Argentina, Australia, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, Turkey, and the United States) comment on the international significance of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists. The most common themes expressed about the Canadian Code were the value of the foundational moral framework, the value-based ethical decision-making model, the positive aspirational focus, and the conceptual clarity. The Code that was developed nationally for Canadian psychologists 25 years ago is now acclaimed internationally. In a troubled and globalizing world, the need for strong worldwide humanizing ethical principles has never been greater. Keywords: CPA Code, international, psychology Work on the development of the Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists (Canadian Psychological Association, 1986, 1991, 2000) was motivated by a need to serve Canadian psychologists. By the late 1980s to the mid 1990s, through publications and presentations at international conferences, many psychology organisations outside Canada (and sometimes members of other professions) became aware of the then-new Canadian Code. Those in the process of developing or revising their own codes began to consider and evaluate the Code as part of that process. In a 1998 Special Issue of Canadian Psychology regarding the Code, comments by psychologists from the following countries were included: the European Federation of Psychologists' Associations, Geoff Lindsay; Ireland, Richard Booth: New Zealand, Brian Dixon; and South Africa, Doug Wassenaar. Today, entering the second decade of the 21st Century, not only has the Code received continuing international attention and acclaim, but new ethical issues on the world stage have surfaced. Such issues range from questions about the use of computer technology to the consequences of internationalization and globalization. In the current Special Issue, commentaries by psychologists from around the globe have again been included, each reflecting on the significance of the Canadian Code on psychologists' ability to meet these new ethical challenges. Several themes appear throughout the following commentaries. First, the most valued contribution of the Canadian Code appears to be the formulation of an explicit moral framework or foundation of ethical principles that are defined separately but linked to specific conduct and behaviours. The second theme seems to be the delineation in the Code of a process for value-based decisionmaking in contrast to an emphasis on complying only with rules about what psychologists must or must not do. It is recognised that rules cannot cover all possible situations, and especially cannot be used to negotiate solutions to dilemmas. The third valued contribution is the emphasis in the Code on positive aspirations rather than on the bottom line for acceptable behaviour. Fourth is the conceptual clarity, user-friendly language, and practical approach, which are thought to enhance the effectiveness of teaching, supervising, and learning ethics and ethical decision-making. References Canadian Psychological Association. (1986). A Canadian code of ethics for psychologists. Ottawa, ON, Canada: Author. Canadian Psychological Association. (1991). Canadian code of ethics for psychologists. Ottawa, ON, Canada: Author. Canadian Psychological Association. …

Embitterment among German academic and non‐academic nurses

PurposeNursing staff display symptoms of psychological stress more frequently than members of other professions. The subjective experience of embitterment also takes on a greater significance. This paper seeks to determine if level of education has an impact on the degree of embitterment as a function of educational status.Design/methodology/approachA between subjects design was used with academic status as the independent variable and self‐report embitterment, using the German version of the Bern Embitterment Inventory, as the primary dependent variable. A random sample of 212 German nurses with academic and non‐academic education participated in the study.FindingsThe comparison between academic and non‐academic nursing staff revealed a statistically significant difference indicating that an academic education has a positive effect on the subjective perception of embitterment (p=0.001).Originality/valueConsidering the current situation of academic nurses within the German health care system and the everyday nursing routine, psychological stress potential of unique dimensions such as embitterment have important ramifications in terms of understanding the relationship between the mental health and academic status of nurses within this system. The findings suggest the merit and value of further implementation of academic nursing study courses in Germany.

Consensus Terminology for Stages of Care: Acute, Chronic, Recurrent, and Wellness

Objective As the chiropractic profession delineates its role in the emerging health care marketplace, it will become increasingly important that the scope of appropriate chiropractic care is clearly defined relative to overall patient case management. Therefore, the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters engaged in a multidisciplinary consensus process addressing the terminology related to “levels of care.” Methods A formal consensus process was conducted in early 2009, following the RAND/UCLA method for rating appropriateness. Panelists were selected to provide a broad representation of the profession in terms of geographic location and organizational affiliation, and an attempt was made to include members of other professions, including representation from third-party payors. The Delphi process was conducted electronically in January-February 2009. A nominal group panel was conducted through an online meeting service using an experienced group facilitator. Twenty-seven panelists were selected; all but 3 were doctors of chiropractic. Six of the panelists had experience as consultants with third-party payors. Results Fifteen seed statements were circulated to the Delphi panel. Consensus was reached on all statements after 3 Delphi rounds, with further refinements made through the nominal group panel. Conclusions By using a recognized formal consensus process, the Council on Chiropractic Guidelines and Practice Parameters has endeavored to establish a set of terms that are acceptable to the chiropractic community in order to facilitate their use within the broader health care community.

Seroprevalence and risk factors of human cytomegalovirus infection in the eastern Chinese population

Epidemiology and clinical outcomes of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection are known to vary between countries and are associated with socio-economic background. So far, few data are available from developing countries, where the overall burden of infectious diseases is frequently higher. Therefore, we analyzed the seroprevalence in a population of 3,740 individuals selected randomly from eastern China, aiming to determine the seroprevalence of and risk factors for HCMV infection. The overall seroprevalence was 48.07%, higher in the socioeconomically developing inland districts than in the developed forelands. The seroprevalence in females (54.60%) was significantly higher than that in males (41.58%) (P < 0.001). As for profession, peasants (61.54%) and doctors (68.48%) had a higher seropositive rate than members of other professions (P < 0.0001). A significant association between seroprevalence and increasing age was identified (P < 0.05). Our study might help to identify appropriate populations on which to focus for future HCMV vaccination.

Utilitarianism and the Evolution of Ecological Ethics

R.M. Hare's two-level utilitarianism provides a useful framework for understanding the evolution of codes of professional ethics. From a Harean perspective, the codes reflect both the fact that members of various professions face special kinds of ethically charged situations in the normal course of their work, and the need for people in special roles to acquire various habits of thought and action. This highlights the role of virtue in professional ethics and provides guidance to professional societies when considering modifications to their codes. From a Harean perspective, a professional society should ask both "Are there kinds of situations that members of this profession will normally encounter which members of other professions and/or the general public will not?" and "What habits of thought and action would it be good for individuals encountering such situations to have?"

Collaboration in primary care: the need to see the bigger picture

The mantras of collaboration, teamwork, interdisciplinary learning, and education have been urged on primary healthcare teams for a very long time. In the UK, Spencer1 suggests that this advocacy goes back to the Dawson Report of 1920,2 but observes: ‘Nevertheless, although the PHCT [primary healthcare team] is widely advocated as the best means for delivering health care in the community, there are problems in realising this ambition.’ 1 Two papers in this issue illustrate the continuing nature of these teamwork problems.3,4 The papers are concerned with the delivery of palliative care services, but the issues they expose are those associated with interdisciplinary teamwork rather than being uniquely related to palliative care. It is accepted that to provide high quality preventive, curative, or rehabilitation care necessitates input from a range of healthcare and other practitioners. To provide such care requires effective communication between all contributors to the care of the individual or community. The basis effective overall communication starts from good communication within a profession. Effective communication then needs to extend to members of other professions and disciplines who form the immediate working team and, subsequently, to members of other teams or organisations. Communication is fundamental to effective teamworking. Focusing on primary care, we know that teamwork can be enhanced by: co-location; facilitated practice-based education; interprofessional learning; shared record systems; shared goals, plans, and activities; and possibly through shared management systems and remuneration.5–10 Fundamental to these approaches to the development of teamwork in primary health care is the idea that education, the organisation of services, and access to resources all need to be utilised to help facilitate and stimulate teamworking. Various approaches to education of practitioners in primary care have been used to develop teamwork. Thomas and colleagues in Liverpool in the 1980s …

Sense of Coherence (SOC) Among Psychotherapists in Austria, Differentiated According to Number of Individually Completed Training Therapy Sessions

The sense of coherence (according Aaron Antonovsky, 1923—1994, when a persons sense that his/her own life and the world are sufficiently comprehensible, manageable, and meaningful) of Austrian psychotherapists was assessed and compared with a standard sample, as well as with the sense of coherence (SOC) of members of other professions. In addition, the question as to whether psychotherapists who had completed more extensive individual training therapy/self-awareness sessions had a higher SOC than do those with fewer, was addressed. Forty psychotherapists who worked in private practices and various psychosocial health care institutions in Styria, Austria took part in the study. The investigation was conducted in the form of a questionnaire assessment. The evaluation showed that the overall SOC value of the professional group in question was significantly higher than that of the standard sample (162.3 vs. 145.7), as well as other samples (physicians: SOC = 153.8; teachers: SOC = 156.1; physiotherapists SOC = 158.1). Concerning whether psychotherapists who had completed more individual training therapy/self-awareness sessions had higher SOC values than did those with fewer, we found no difference in regard to the overall SOC score or SOC scores for individual components. The SOC of psychotherapists did not seem to depend on the number of additional training therapy/self-awareness sessions.

Editorial

Editorial

Organizational Commitment and Ethical Behavior: An Empirical Study of Information System Professionals

IS professionals have been reported to have one of the highest turnover rates. They have also often been accused of unethical conduct, specifically, pirating software, hacking, giving professional opinion that exceeds their knowledge, and not protecting people's privacy. In a sample of 71 IS professionals and 250 members of other professions we found that IS professionals were more committed to their organizations than the other professionals, and that IS professionals were, indeed, less ethical with respect to software piracy and hacking. However, we found that they were not less ethical regarding professional opinions that exceed one's knowledge and protecting people's privacy.

Reply to the Commentary on “Disclosure of Tests and Raw Test Data to the Courts”

Although we respond to the concerns raised by thereviewers, the most important point to recognize is thateveryone involved in this discussion agrees on the needfor a multidisciplinary panel to develop policies and pro-cedures for handling tests and raw test data. No one hasargued that the current system is satisfactory, and no onehasidentifiedflawsinourbasicreasoningorthefactsuponwhich our arguments and recommendation are based.A fundamental similarity between the reviewers ofour article “Disclosure of Tests and Raw Test Data to theCourts” is their desire to maintain psychological test se-curity. This appears to stem from a pattern of fears thatattorneys will unscrupulously make copies of our tests ortest data and begin distributing them to their clients whoare to be psychologically examined. Additionally, the re-viewers again raise concern regarding attorneys misusingthe data. We respond to these concerns as follows:1. These are important concerns. However, the sug-gestion that psychologists’ withholding raw data inlitigated cases will significantly diminish availabil-ity of test information for attorneys is an unrealisticproposal. Attorneys and nearly anyone else can ob-taincopiesofpsychologicalandneuropsychologicalinstruments without psychologists. Moreover, con-trary to the claims of some individuals, members ofother professions other than psychology routinelypurchasepsychologicaltestsfromalmostallthema-jor psychological test publishers. This is a well-documented and incontrovertible fact, not a grayarea or judgment call. For any reader who doubtsthis last statement, references are abundant: Referto the test qualifications forms in the backs of the

Religiosity and stress for police officers

Much of the research which has been conducted to date regarding stress and police officers has focused on identifying the presence of stress, associating stress with specific stressors, and comparing levels of stress between police officers and members of other professions. This project focused on the influence of one potential mediator of stress—religious activity. Data were collected from a population of law enforcement officers from a medium sized city and from a comparison group of firefighters from the same city. The data indicate that religiosity has two factors (1) traditional beliefs and activities and (2) religious satisfaction and perceived influence of religion on subject’s everyday lives. The second factor was found to be negatively related to stress for police officers. As religious satisfaction and perceived influence increase, stress increases.

Creative Achievement and Psychopathology: Comparison among Professions

This study was designed to determine (1) whether members of the 8 "creative arts" professions (i.e., architects, artists, musicians, composers, actors/directors, essayists, fiction writers, and poets) display greater rates of psychopathology than members of other professions, and (2) whether a significant relationship exists between creative achievement and mental disturbance. The final study sample (n = 1,005), constituting 18 separate professions, consisted of all appropriate individuals whose biographies were reviewed in the New York Times Book Review over a 30-year period (1960 to 1990). The results, in their entirety, suggest (a) that different patterns of psychopathology, if any, tend to be associated with different professions and at different periods in individuals' lives, (b) that different professions are associated with different levels of creative achievement, and (c) that certain types of psychopathology are associated with creative achievement across all professions.

The Professionalisation of Social Work? A Case Study of Three Organisational Settings

This case study of social workers employed in three organisations suggests that conflict and tension arising from specific bureaucratic requirements combined with professional workers' claims for autonomy are not the invariable or inevitable outcome of organisational employment. Indeed, by defining spheres of competence and exclusive jurisdiction, organisational guide-lines protect social workers from encroachment by, and competition with members of other professions. This thereby strengthens the position and increases the legitimacy of social work within an organisation. In addition, social workers depend upon complex organisations for essential resources including employment opportunities and clients thereby contributing to professional-organisational interdependence and integration.

Job involvement and job satisfaction of South African nurses compared with other professions

The study was designed primarily to compare the work outcomes of job satisfaction and job involvement of South African nurses with those of members of 13 other professional groups in South Africa and with American nurses where data was available. Secondary aims included identifying areas where job satisfaction was particularly low and demonstrating the relative independence of the job involvement and job satisfaction constructs. A questionnaire incorporating the Kanungo Job Involvement Scale and the Short Form of the Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire was mailed to random samples of people between the ages of 29 and 41 drawn from 14 professional registers. There were 114 nurses in the final sample and 1677 members of other professions. Differences among professions were tested for significance using one-way analyses of variance and Bonferroni ranges tests. South African Nurses were shown to have extremely low job satisfaction relative to American nurses and to other professional groups in South-Africa. By contrast their job involvement was moderately high. The implications of these findings for the medical profession as a whole and for nurses in particular are discussed. The fear is expressed that wide spread dissatisfaction may lead to fewer people entering the profession and highly trained people leaving.

Catalyzing the Primary Prevention Revolution in the Schools: The Role of School Psychologists

The introduction of primary prevention programs into schools has great potential to expand the roles of school personnel. Working collaboratively, school psychologists, teachers, and school administrators could facilitate adoption of social skills and health promotion programs. Leaders within schools are needed to initiate the move toward primary prevention. School psychologists are ideally placed to take a leadership role in this shift toward primary prevention. However, they need to receive more information about primary prevention, both in training programs and in written works, if they are to be adequately prepared to introduce programs and to consult to school personnel. The information that school psychologists are currently exposed to provides an inadequate level of detail for those who wish to implement such programs. We offer recommendations to school psychologists and members of other professions within the schools on how to acquire the information they need to serve as leaders in the primary pr...

Born female: The development of nursing in Thailand

Nursing was the first educational-based occupational field for women in Thailand. In the brief span of 90 years since its beginning in hospital bedside care, it has become a professional field that has one of the greatest concentrations of women with doctoral degrees in the nation ( n = 23). The academic evolution of nursing was instigated by the decisive contributions of two rich and powerful interests, the monarchy and private U.S.A.-based foundations. A carde of doctorally prepared nurses has emerged. They, like members of other professions in Thailand, are predominantly from the urban privileged sector of society. The majority of today's nurses have followed a different course starting from petty bourgeoisie origins in towns and moving laterally through provincial bureaucratic channels. To date, lack of basic educations has denied the poor and minority ethnic groups from the hill areas access to nursing. We describe the development of the nursing profession in three phases: the beginning of nurse training, 1896–1926; the creation of a small elite of nurses, 1926–1956; and the development of academic nursing, 1956 to the present. The future depends upon how the current polarization between the minority elite of university-prepared nurses and the majority lower middle class nurses proceeds. Since each group is governed and educated by separate government Ministries, and since women do not have access to higher government positions, nursing may have little control over its own development unless its new leaders take new leadership. One strategy is to recruit men into university nursing.

Suicide by Physicians-Reply

<h3>In Reply.—</h3> Dr Anteski's letter shows the problem of statements taken out of context. It would seem reasonable to assume that communications written by physicians, published in medical journals, and aimed at an audience of physicians do not need a restatement of the Hippocratic oath. In other words, our readers may assume that we have the same concern for the welfare of the individual physician as patient or sufferer as for any other person. Despite efforts by the judicial process, epidemiologists, and philosophers, it is difficult if not impossible to assign a monetary value to an individual life. It is evident, however, that physicians as a group, like the members of other professions, represent an enormous financial investment and have an enormous actual and potential economic influence. Suicide as a subject of investigation is of importance, and it has additional importance to society when loss of members of the group