The predicament of the employed professional.

Abstract

Among the many perplexing issues which come to the attention of a professional governing body are those which arise out of the peculiar situation of the employed professional. Psychologists, like engineers, are largely employees and some parallels can be drawn between the difficulties faced by the employed members of these two professions. Nevertheless the important professional issues faced by the employed psychologist diverge from those of the engineer at the point where the problem inheres in the peculiar subject matter of the psychologist, the problems of human beings and the attendant sensitive issues of privacy, consent, and the proper modes for the communication of professional findings. Difficulties can arise for psychologists from conflicts between professional standards and the administrative rulings of employers.Some studies of the employed professional have been conducted recently in Ontario under the aegis of the Professional Organizations Committee which commissioned a number of working papers on the four professions of accounting, architecture, engineering and law. In her study of the employed members of these professions, Swinton (1979) expressed doubt that employers could be expected to ensure that their professional employees serve the public interest. She goes further and points out that concerns for professionals may arise out of "tensions between their professionalism and the demands of the bureaucratic organization for which they work" (p. 53), stemming from the "dual allegiance which is part of the [professional's] role" (p. 58). Her study suggests that conflicts in respect to ethical questions or the exercise of professional judgment may Contributions to the Practice Wise column are invited. Contact Jean Ffettifor. 2731 Crawford Road. N.W.. Calgary, Alberta T2L 1C9. Unpublished manuscript, 1979. Requests should be directed to the Toronto Board of Education. 155 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5T 1P6. Ontario Board of Examiners in Psychology. Brief to the Royal Commission of Enquiry into the Confidentiality of Health Records in Ontario.

A critical history of CPA's various code of ethics for psychologists (1939–1986).

“…Related to these factors were the more general problems of professional identity being experienced by psychologists working within multidisciplinary service units in health care facilities. As summarized somewhat later by Wand (1981Wand ( , 1982, psychologists working in such settings believed that they lacked clear role functions and that their roles were often denned inappropriately by hospital administrators and psychiatrists. The CPA'S newly formed Applied Division was the organizational structure dial heard many of these concerns and began to attend to requests that CPA develop national standards useful to provincial jurisdictions and sensitive to local legal and ethical realities.…”

“…Community psychology and its representatives in die CPA'S Applied Division were a central aspect of diis historical development. The problems of die employed professional began to be seen by members of various subcommittees of die Applied Division as die result of conflicting values associated widi role responsibilities; primarily, conflict between professional values regarding service to clients and employer values regarding efficient business administration (Pettifor, 1980(Pettifor, , 1981Ritchie, 1982;Wand, 1981). This particular recognition of what amounted to an internal contradiction in die profession (die psychologist as servant of die client vs. servant of die state) was seminal to die development of die approach taken to development of die new CPA'S Code of Ediics.…”

Enhancing fairness and justice in the ethical complaint process.

“…One invalid assumption may be that the individual psychologist is fully in control of his or her own practice. Some of the dilemmas and constraints of psychologists working in a complex society with conflicting pressures are discussed by Simon (1975), Pettifor (1980Pettifor ( , 1985Pettifor ( , 1986, Wand (1981) and Ritchie (1982). Pressures include those from third party payers, employers, family members in conflict with a client, and inadequate resources.…”

The Canadian Code of Ethics for Psychologists: A moral context for ethical decision-making in emerging areas of practice.

“…Ethically the winning positions should be based on values of respect for persons and beneficial results for clients and the public. conflict with the expectations and demands of employers, third parties, and other interested persons (Pettifor, 1980;Ritchie, 1982;and Wand, 1981). The direct recipient of services is seen by the profession as the primary client, although a referral source, policy maker, employer, funder or other third party may not agree.…”