Ralph
How nice. But my delight is tempered by the realisation that those
hallucinations have returned again. I should have guessed that my version
of events was a mere illusion. It must be the mushrooms. Only last week I
was certain I’d seen a herd of pink cows in a field near Garstang. They
say the effects last for years. Flashbacks too. I must be more careful
what I pick in future.
I’m not sure what you disagree with though. The example you give is one
tiny little observation. Can I also suggest that you include the words “in
my opinion” after (Wrongly)? If you wish to argue the influencing factors
that govern Society policy that’s all well and fine, but I suspect we may
find that employment bias is but one driving force of several. The
profession, never mind the Society, has been pushed along by three or
four ‘factions’. ‘Managers’ and ‘Surgeons’ are but two. You may disagree
but I only relate the comments of some council members – both past and
present. Maybe they pick the wrong mushrooms too?
I am glad that you say that general practice is the bedrock of the
profession. But has it been well served by the political hegemony in
British podiatry? Can you give me three examples where the Society can
claim to have benefited the working environment, in any meaningful sense,
for general practitioners over the last twenty years? Would you care to
argue against the suggestion that, if anything, the professional platform
that was State Registered Chiropody has slipped badly over the same period
and that the future is extremely uncertain and unattractive? Would you
disagree that the overwhelming majority of people in this profession are
disillusioned and apathetic towards the prevailing professional direction
and that perhaps the seven and a half thousand members who didn’t vote at
the last election were registering a vote of dissent? If the Society
didn’t exist what would really change?
I realise that these are emotive issues Ralph, but you fail to address any
of the main points that I was making. You ignored the fact that I was
citing examples from the Borthwick-Dowd paper; my point of the last post
was this. Where does podiatric surgery leave the profession at the present
time? It’s obvious the Royal Colleges will block any ascendancy hopes of
parity between orthopaedic and podiatric practice. There is certainly
active conflict between both parties. The authors ask – where do you go
from here? I would add – without further endangering the rest of the
profession. I realise you see things differently Ralph, but you must
accept that many in the profession are deeply unhappy at the way podiatric
surgery was established for precisely the reasons I outlined last week.
You may disagree of course, but I think you may find that my
hallucinations are not unique. I wonder how much easier it would have been
all these years ago if we had approached our colleagues in orthopaedics
and suggested greater integration between the professions. If we had
applied ourselves to working alongside the orthopods – contributing our
knowledge of gait and biomechanics to augment their surgical practice –
instead of engaging in a damaging period of conflict on territorial
encroachment that is breathtakingly duplicitous to say the least. I think
it was Bob Fleck who asked the question earlier this year - If you wanted
to be surgeons, why didn’t you go back to med school just like the oral
surgeons do? Why not indeed? The Royal Colleges will most certainly get
their way – maybe the ‘achievement’ with RCS (Edin) was nothing else but a
canny move by these fly Scots to nip this podiatric surgery business in
the bud? Not my suggestion – but that of the authors again. If the
conflict continues where does that leave the rest of the profession? Just
a thought – if the rest of the profession decide that podiatric surgery
training and practice should be the responsibility of the Royal Colleges –
where does that leave you then? Do you think that the fallout between the
Society and the BOA has damaged the establishment of the profession
elsewhere? The medical profession has many friends in high places Ralph.
If they saw us as an ally rather than a problem, would they not be more
minded to assist us in any way they can? Medicine and dentistry operate
reasonable well together. Why aren’t we on the same platform.
I just think you’ve got to start asking yourselves why things aren’t
improving. There a lot of areas you could address. Communication has to be
the starting point though and on that basis I’m delighted to see you
sharing your thoughts once again. Even though your analysis is poor and
your assumptions are wrong; in my opinion, of course!
Back to the mushrooms ;-)
Kindest
Mark Russell
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