Reflection on regulation and maintenance of competence

I Prof. Lawal Hassan From Nigeria.

I believe that if you want to work with people's health you have to love to study and keep learning because there is always something to learn and it will impact positively upon practice. Regulation about continuous education is hard to analyze because it depends on so many factors outside health itself, politics, economics, etc. I don't think in my country we are even close to something like revalidation although other professions do have that.

For me, maintaining professional competence would be maintenance of my personal health and joy in life. I believe if I feel healthy, am physically active, and have a strong mental support system, I am better equipped to go into the hospital and care for patients. This also involves doing things that I enjoy outside of work and spending time with people I care for. If I am happy in my personal life, I am better-prepared to come into work and care for patients because I myself am taken care of. As stated in the previous topic, if we struggle to care for ourselves, it becomes more difficult to care for patients.

If I saw a colleague conducting unethical behavior, my reaction would depend on how severe it was. If it was something that was perhaps a break in policy or workplace rules but was not necessarily harmful to anyone, I would approach and let them know I witnessed what happened and would appreciate that they do not do it again. I would also let them know that if they ever need help with something to please come to me first before breaking that rule/policy. If their act was harmful to a patient/colleague, I would let the proper resource know because endangerment of others is unacceptable. I would also intervene as soon as possible to try to avoid anyone getting hurt.

important to read and apply

It’s important to maintain knowledge for the safety of the practice

Agreed

By regulating ourselves we can ensure we provide the best care and be a good member of the team to work with

agree

Always put the patient first.

It can be very situation dependent. If it is low level concern may be able to have discussion with colleague and encourage to reflect. More serious cases may need to discuss with others, such as colleagues, legal support, regulator

Yes always intervene to ensure patient safety