Terzet-Digitaal Congres-15-dhr. dr. R. van Es

TERZET 25 JAAR- DIGITAAL CONGRES 2018 12 versus a. my duty to make decisions based on fairness, b. the virtue of upholding my professional honor, and c. the public interest, i.e. not burdening Dutch society with the additional costs of this rehabilitation project? My answer is NO, because based on my responsibility for my own personal development as a vocational rehabilitation counselor and my aspiration to act rationally and fairly and to right wrongs, the four virtue-related arguments against weigh most heavily. It would not be fair if Dutch society had to pay for non-productive costs (virtue of justice); secondly, as a professional vocational rehabilitation counselor I will not accept lies meant to avoid upsetting the status quo in the local community (virtue of personal development); thirdly, the employer must be aware that firing this employee is likely to isolate and/or stigmatize him further (virtue of care); and finally, as a certified vocational rehabilitation counselor, I want to act professionally and appropriately towards my peers: my actions should reflect respect for my profession.” So what action should I take? “I cannot simply condone the employer’s conduct (lying) and the employee’s conduct (cheating) at the expense of Dutch society. I am going to talk to them individually and make clear that their lack of Fairness and Appropriateness has been observed and duly noted. I will point out that they are burdening the taxpayer with the costs of their misconduct. I will listen carefully to the opinion and arguments of both the employer and employee, and I will include them in a written record in my report. And I will base an article on this case to be used in peer feedback sessions. If published, this paper might also reach medical doctors, insurance agents and lawyers. In this way, it may contribute to the further professionalization of vocational rehabilitation counseling and strengthen ties with professionals in related fields. In doing so I contribute to the Ethical Dialogue and its process values.” Evaluation of the vocational expert´s case The ethical standpoint and the resulting actions taken do not preclude the counselor from resuming his rehabilitation efforts for the employee. However, if he had resumed these duties without first determining his standpoint and taking appropriate action, he would have reduced himself to a lackey and given his client and the employer free rein to do whatever they pleased. This would have been unworthy of a professional vocational rehabilitation counselor. Professionals must every so often stake out the boundaries of rationality and fairness along the profession’s path. And once in a while, they get to paint the stakes they drive into the earth in a color that marks their own identity. A true professional is not some anonymous service supplier, but a recognizable individual operating within the parameters of the profession. The model for ethical decision making can be a useful tool for determining when and where to drive in those stakes. Obviously, daily practice will not always allow for such an extensive analysis. After all, there are many tasks to deal with, limited funds, and other people waiting for rehabilitation counseling and help. At the same time, vocational rehabilitation counselors need to acknowledge that if they are serious about professionalizing this field, they must periodically pause to reconsider their own cases from different angles. Such reflection provides insight into the premises, choices and arguments underpinning our actions. After all, there are vocational rehabilitation counselors who, in this case, would have reached the opposite decision, i.e. ‘Yes, it is ethically apt to resign myself to the facts in this case’. With this article in hand, these experts can pinpoint exactly where and why their judgment, in assigning weight to responsibilities and their narratives about personality, aspirations and commitment, diverge from what was presented here, and to what extent this is justifiable under the SRA Code of Conduct. It is our belief that this will improve the professional debate within this field. Evaluation of the developed model First, we return to the desirable characteristics of a model fit for certified experts. The five characteristics formulated in Table 1 all return in the developed model. Table 4 repeats the characteristics and specifies how they are part of the three stage model.