Caring about professional conduct

The topic of this post is one that is unlikely to attract acolades for the writer. It's one of those aspects of professional practice that implies a risk to the recipients of care, and that sometimes difficult judgments need to be made in order to maintain a professional standard.

There are people in every walk of life who develop conditions that may impair their judgment or conduct, people whose thoughts and actions are adversely influenced by alcohol or other substances, and people who fail to meet the community's standard in terms of professional misconduct and abuse of their position of trust. There are also people whose actions as professionals are significantly different from accepted professional standards. While tolerance and acceptance of difference are values many of us hold dear, we must all take seriously our duty of care, and act to protect others at times when we observe conduct that is of concern.