Professional values and interprofessional dialogue

Abstract

Although professional values present problems of definition and evidence, differences and similarities can nonetheless be identified in relation to nursing and social work. There are good arguments for accepting the differences as being unavoidable, and perhaps desirable; and for concentrating on optimising the quality of interprofessional dialogue around values, rather than for seeking to remove those differences. A conceptual framework for evaluating that dialogue is considered.

Key Words:

• Health care
• social care
• professional values
• interprofessional dialogue