COMPETENCE IN PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE - SOME ISSUES AND CONCERNS

As a result of policy initiatives in the mid-1980s, the Department for Education and Employment has been encouraging the development of nati onal occupational standards and National and Scottish Vocational Quali fications (N/SVQs) in all occupational sectors within the UK. For the health and social care sector, these developments give rise to a numbe r of issues and concerns. Using Health Promotion as an example of an a rea of professional practice within health and social care, this paper explores the relationship between academic assessment and the assessm ent of National and Scottish Vocational Qualifications; the relationsh ip between the academic and the National and Scottish Vocational Quali fication model of credit accumulation and transfer; and the relationsh ip between qualification, licence to practice and competence in practi ce. Subsequently, it examines the development of the reflective profes sional practitioner and the relationship between 'competence' and noti ons of 'excellence' and 'expertise' in professional practice. Finally, it considers the role of knowledge and understanding in professional practice and the role of academic institutions in the development of a professional practitioner.