Chapter10 Professional Development, Competence

Professional Development,
Competence, and Expertise
Chapter 10
A.B(batrasian_67@hotmail.com) 04/17/2024
 Throughout a professional career,
professionals will be changing the scope of
their competence, through becoming more
specialist, through moving into newly
developing areas of professional work, or
through taking on management or
educational roles; they will also be
continuously developing the quality of their
work in a number of areas, beyond the level of
competence to one of proficiency or expertise.
(Michael Eraut)
 Where are the standards for CE [continuing
education]?
 If you find them, let me know—and let me know how
they are implemented and by whom. In states that

require CE units (CEUs) for physical therapists to
maintain their licenses, there is a patchwork of
mechanisms for CEU approval, almost none of which
are related to the quality of the content. In many of
those states, we use CEUs to argue with legislators that
we are policing our own house and that we are as
professional as anyone else.
 But that masks the reality. Our argument implies that
we are doing something to protect the public, when in
fact we are doing something for self-aggrandizement
and political purposes and to keep the CE industry
incredibly profitable. Unless we do something to
ensure that CE courses are based on recent, credible
information, we aren’t helping patients.
(Jules Rothstein)
 As professionals, PTs have an obligation to
update their skills.
 The Guide for Professional Conduct (GPC) of
the American Physical Therapy Association

(APTA) takes note of this: “A physical
therapist has a lifelong professional
responsibility for maintaining competence
through ongoing self-assessment, education,
and enhancement of knowledge and skills”
(GPC 5.2)
Competence verses professional
development
 Eraut notes that competence and professional
development have very different
connotations.
 Competence suggests a dichotomous
evaluation; that is, a person is either

competent or not to perform a particular
task.
 Professional development is more consistent
with evaluation on a continuous scale ranging

from novice to expert
 Professional development connotes a process
of continuous improvement, lifelong learning,
and growth, which allow professionals to
improve their practice so as to better serve
patients, clients, organizations, the
profession, and society.
 Eraut describes two dimensions of
professional competence: scope and quality.
Scope of competence
 The scope of competence includes the roles, tasks,
and skills a professional can perform and the
situations or circumstances in which they can be
performed.
 For example, a PT or PT student who demonstrates
competence in joint mobilization while using a
simulated orthopedic patient in a classroom setting
may not have similar competence in the clinical
setting or with patients with neurological diagnoses.
 The student’s scope of competence, therefore, is
more limited than that of the expert manual therapist,
who has had more opportunity to perform the skill in
a variety of circumstances.
Quality of competence
 Whereas the scope of competence focuses on

whether or not a professional is able to
perform tasks under various circumstances,
the dimension of quality addresses how well
the professional performs these tasks.
 Novice practitioner verses expert
Expertise
 In addition to technical skills, expertise in
physical therapy involves a blending of cognitive,
technical, psychosocial, interactive, and moral
skills.
 In a qualitative study of expertise in four specialty
areas of physical therapy, Jensen and colleagues
identified four dimensions of clinical expertise
1. Multidimensional, patient-centered knowledge base
that evolves through reflection
2. Collaborative and problem-solving approach to
clinical reasoning
3. Focus on movement linked to patient function
4. Sense of caring and commitment to patients
ACTIVITIES THAT PROMOTE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Participation in continuing education courses

does not automatically guarantee enhanced
professional expertise and development.
 For example, those who attend continuing
education courses sometimes find they are

unable to use what they have learned in their
clinical practice.
 Disconnection between teaching and
learning.
 Technical/ Formal knowledge verses
Reflective/ intuitive knowledge
 The course may not be an appropriate vehicle
for meeting the learner’s goals.

 a learner may select a course without having
a real plan for practicing and refining the

skills involved, or the person may chose a
course simply because it is convenient or
inexpensive.
 Quality of course/ trainer
EVALUATION OF COMPETENCE AND PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
◦ Mandatory continuing education

◦ Reexamination at set intervals
◦ Peer review
◦ Compilation of a professional portfolio
CAREER ADVANCEMENT
 Career is “[the] pursuit of consecutive progressive
achievement, especially in public, professional, or
business life.” This definition suggests a pattern of
achievement or success.
 “the perception of an individual’s employment
achievements over time.” (Rozier and associates)
 Professional development is continuous education
and improvement in skills
 Career advancement focuses more on professional
success as measured by promotions, salary
increases, enhancement of one’s reputation, and
other personal indicators of success.
 Gender and cast/ creed, glass ceiling in career
advancement
ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT ON PROFESSIONAL
DEVELOPMENT
 Organizations may have a significant impact on
professional development.
 Obviously, one aspect of professional competence is the
ability to apply professional knowledge and skills in the
organizational setting.
 However, organizations also may shape professionals
through educational offerings and reimbursement for
continuing education.
 organizations shape PTs through organizational
socialization, “the process by which an individual enters an
organization and becomes a fully participating and
effective member.”
 Socialization is not a discrete event, but rather a
continuous, interactive process in which the individual and
the organization learn and respond to each other’s needs.
 For the PT, an important part A.B(batrasian_67@hotmail.com)
of this process is04/17/2024learning
 At some point in their career, PTs and other professionals
may find their personal or professional values in conflict
with the organizational culture and values.
 When major differences arise between the accepted ethical
standards of the profession and the formal or informal
ethical stance of the organization, the PT either must try to
change the organizational stance or resign.
 The Guide for Professional Conduct states, “A physical
therapist shall advise his/her employer(s) of any employer
practice that causes a physical therapist to be in conflict
with the ethical principles of the association. A physical
therapist shall seek to eliminate aspects of his/her
employment that are in conflict with the ethical principles
of the association” (GPC 4.3B).
FURTHER THOUGHTS
 Success or failure in professional

development depends on the individual’s
motivation and enthusiasm.
 The heart of professional development is a
willingness to engage in continual self-

assessment and reflection; without these two
components, professional development runs
the risk of degenerating into simply ensuring
minimal competence.

Chapter10 Professional Development, Competence

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Chapter10 Professional Development, Competence

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Copyright:

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Professional Development,

Competence, and Expertise

they are implemented and by whom. In states that

the American Physical Therapy Association

evaluation; that is, a person is either

with evaluation on a continuous scale ranging

professional competence: scope and quality.

 Whereas the scope of competence focuses on

 Participation in continuing education courses

education courses sometimes find they are

for meeting the learner’s goals.

a real plan for practicing and refining the

◦ Mandatory continuing education

 Success or failure in professional

willingness to engage in continual self-

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