[CAUT] Workload; was Position announcement

[Dorrie Bell]

Following up on Diane's point:

There are actually a couple of models for professional "certification," neither of which is followed by PTG/RPT.

One, which does involve the government, is the licensed professional. Like Diane, I have to document 15 hours of study every two years to keep my R.N. license active. (This is a public safety issue so it involves the government.)

The second, which is not governmental, is the academic degree. I have a Ph.D., but no one would ever think of hiring me in that scientific field without finding out when I got the thing. Ph.D.(1987) gives a really clear picture: the candidate demonstrated excellence in problem-solving 23 years ago. So maybe she is capable and knowledgeable still, but maybe not. (This question is not a public safety issue and there is no need for regulation outside of the professional area.)

It startled me when I first joined the PTG 10 years ago that there is great insistence on getting and having the RPT status but no insistence at all on either required continuing education or statement of date RPT was earned (the latter being especially important because not only to people and abilities change over the years, the tests themselves have changed over the years, so the "qualifications" of any individual are very unclear).

So if I were hiring for a university, I would not use the RPT as a sorting criterion. And, given the ambiguity of its meaning, I would probably use the presence of the RPT as an indication that the candidate was involved in his professional association (works and plays well with others) rather than a clear indication of technical skill level.

I know, I know -- requiring recertification or continuing ed or mandatory dating of RPT would be a horrendous political mess. But think about it -- does our present system serve the public the way that we say it does? Or does it serve our egos?

Best wishes from an associate member, with therefore no standing in this discussion at all --
Dorrie Bell
Boston, MA


-----Original Message-----
>From: Diane Hofstetter <dianepianotuner at msn.com>
>Sent: Jul 24, 2010 4:39 PM
>To: Ed Sutton <ed440 at mindspring.com>, College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Workload; was Position announcement
>
>
>Something I've learned since becoming a licensed hearing instrument speciaist, is that, to keep my license, I am required to obtain at least 15 continuing education units per year.  This is beneficial to everybody concerned.
>