Psychologists are ethically obligated to ensure their own competence. When problems of professional competence occur, psychologists must take appropriate steps to regain competence while protecting those they serve. Yet conceptualizations of the competence obligation are thoroughly intertwined with Western ideals of individualism and a model of the person as self-contained, self-controlled, and perpetually rational. Research in health care, education, and multicultural and social psychology raise serious doubts about psychologists' capacity for consistently accurate self-assessments of competence. To address this problem, the authors advocate that education, training, professional ethics standards, and credentialing criteria be infused with a robust communitarian ethos and a culturally pervasive ethic of care. The authors propose a shift in discourse about competence to incorporate both competent individuals and competent communities.
This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly.practicing professionals. In the proposals, the authors address the following topics: definitions and categories; preparing the system; self-assessment; remediation; diversity; communication across various levels of the system; confidentiality; and ethical, regulatory, and legal underpinnings. They also propose future directions for the assessment of problems in professional competence in both students and practicing psychologists.
Professional psychology has used the term impairment to describe trainees whose behavior does not meet minimum standards of professional competence, despite difficulties with the term that have been identified (L. Forrest, N. Elman, S. Gizara, & T. Vacha-Haase, 1999), and a few new terms that have been posited. Overlap with definitions of disability and impairment under the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) create legal risk for training programs continuing to use the term impairment (C. A. Falender, C. J. Collins, & E. P. Shafranske, 2005). In this article, we review this and other problems with impairment, propose new terminology that captures three concepts ( problems, professional, and competence), and examine ways in which the new terminology is contextually grounded in emerging trends in psychology (e.g., the competency movement).
Problems with professional competence or impairment in psychology have been viewed almost exclusively as residing within the individual trainee or psychologist, with limited attention to the contexts in which such difficulties are embedded. The authors propose an ecological perspective (Bronfenbrenner, 1979(Bronfenbrenner, , 1989(Bronfenbrenner, , 1995 to capture the influence of multiple factors that affect trainee development and provide a stronger base from which to conceptualize and address problems of professional competence. The authors describe Bronfenbrenner's ecological model and use it as a framework to understand professional competence problems, recommend best practices for prevention and intervention, and suggest future research directions.
This paper reviews the development of thinking about the family firm in four major areas of focus, and discusses the contributions and limitations of each approach.
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