Tales of Two Public Enemies, Both with Professional Licenses

 

by Pa Rock

Licensed Professional

I have had several licenses over the course of a lifetime that have enabled me to practice multiple professions with the express permission of the state.  I had to go through specialized training to receive specific degrees - and pass rigorous examinations - in order to receive those licenses.  During the course of my work career the state of Missouri has granted me certificates or licenses to teach various subjects in public schools and to serve in those institutions as an educational administrator - principal and superintendent.  I have also been licensed by the state to sell real estate and to act as a real estate broker, and late in life the state recognized me as a competent mental health professional by granting me a hard-won license as a state certified clinical social worker (LCSW).

A license to practice a profession was - and is - a significant achievement, one that carries a great deal of responsibility.

This week there have been two stories in the news about licensed professionals who behaved badly.  One involved an elementary teacher in Marin County, California, who did not get vaccinated against COVID and who later broke school masking requirements for teachers by removing her mask at times when she read to her class.  There were twenty-two students in her class last May when the problem occurred.  Even though the children's desks were placed six feet apart, of the twenty-two students in that teacher's class, twelve were diagnosed with COVID - including every student who was sitting in the front two rows of the class

Fortunately none became seriously ill, but twelve children did come down with the virus which was likely introduced into the classroom by a teacher who chose not to get vaccinated and also chose to break school policy by removing her mask during the instructional day - and those kids took that virus home to share with their family and friends.  That teacher had a duty to protect the children in her care, she was employed by the school district to do so, and she was licensed by the state to serve that function.   Not only did the children look to her to keep them safe, so did their parents, the school district that hired her, and the state that licensed her.  She let them all down.

The other tale involves an emergency room physician at a hospital in Tallahassee, Florida.  Being new to the medical profession, and likely with plenty of school debt, the young and relatively inexperienced doctor came up with a plan to boost his income, and he began advertising on social media that he would would write letters - on appropriate stationery - that would allow parents to opt their children out of having to wear masks at schools where they were required - and parents could acquire these opt-out letters at the bargain price of just fifty dollars each!  What a deal!

The doctor was quickly fired by his hospital employer.

As someone who has earned and depended on the privileges of several state-issued licenses over the course of his work career, I understand the gravity and of messing with someone's ability to practice their profession and earn a living, but in both of these cases, the California teacher and the Florida doctor, the licensees appear to have openly broken the public trust conveyed by their state-issued licenses, and in both cases those licenses should probably be suspended or revoked.  

Endangering the public during an international health crisis is something that should not be condoned.  Hopefully the offenders will use more caution and common sense in their next careers.