A guide to professional conduct - do we really need it

Authors: Marchant R
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 33, Issue 12, pp 201, Dec 1985
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: General
Subject Terms: Ethics, Veterinary profession
Article class: General Article
Abstract: The 1985 edition of the Guide to Professional Conduct for veterinarians in New Zealand is about to be released. Changing demands of society, and of the profession itself, mean that any document which attempts to give guidance on matters of conduct must be continually reviewed or become irrelevant. Thus a new edition of the Guide has been produced some five years after the last edition. Some may ask, quite justifiably, why we need a Guide at all. In every civilised society a set of rules, or some form of recognised customs, has been set down. These provide stability for that society and at the same time allow individuals the freedom to go about their everyday business. It is a reflection of the particular society as to what degree of freedom the individual retains. People accept that the maintenance and stability of a society means the loss of some individual liberty. There is of course considerable difference between a set of rules (or a code) and a guide to conduct. A code defines behaviour far more specifically than does a guide, the intention is more specific, and the opportunity for…
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