A pyrrhic victory over the RCT?

Where does the moral authority reside to determine what shall be the norms of conduct within a profession? Key documents in nursing, especially "A Social Policy Statement," are analyzed. From this literature it is apparent that nursing is committed to the philosophy that society "owns" the profession. Consequently, moral authority is rooted in the general public. Examining nursing reactions to the registered care technician (RCT) with this philosophy for consistency, we conclude that in this case nursing did not clearly acknowledge the moral authority of society. The public record of the debate suggests that nursing, like medicine, is guilty of a form of paternalism (i.e., nursing is in the best position to decide what is best for society). Nursing needs to evaluate its level of awareness with regard to stated social policy philosophy and the extent to which this philosophy is consciously used to focus discussion about such issues as are raised by the RCT. Most important, if nursing sincerely believes in the moral authority of society, the profession has an obligation to devise creative means of involving society in more direct ways in decision making about health care priorities.