E0ITO1IAL INTERNATIONAL PROFESSIONALISM MAART 1978 The E ighth In te rn a tio n a l Congress of the W orld C on­ federation fo r Physical T h erap y is upon us and this may be an o p p o rtu n e m om ent to reflect on w hat it is all about. R easons fo r attending such a m eeting vary from individual to individual, b u t th ere are basic con­ cepts comm on to all in tern atio n al organizations. E xchange o f professional know ledge, stim u latio n of neW ideas, fu rth e r research and visits to professional institutions in the host country w ould be p rim a ry aim s, possibly m ore im p o rtan t, if secondary to such a m eeting, \ c o ntact on a m ore personal level leading to better u n d erstanding o f differences in culture, language, p o liti­ cal ideas and the like. T hese subtle influences are often more far-reaching an d effective in achieving positive results. Thus w e m eet as individuals fro m specific b ack ­ grounds, b u t w ith a com m on interest, o u r profession. Those of us th a t w ill m eet in Israel could dwell on the words o f E ugene M ichels, P resident o f the W orld Confederation fo r Physical T h e ra p y (W .C.P.T. B ulletin 64, N ovem ber 1977): “W ithin o u r own countries, we are b o th citizens and physical therapists. As citizens, w e have certain respon­ sibilities w hich vary according to the laws and customs of o u r countries. A s physical therapists, we are responsible fo r w orking- indiv idually and col­ lectively to help people w ho need physical therapy, to advance o u r p rofession o f physical therapy, and to help o u r colleagues and ourselves im prove in I professional know ledge and skills. In o th er words, our responsibilities as citizens in o u r own countries may differ b u t o u r responsibilities as physical therapists are m uch the sam e everyw here. A t an in tern atio n al level, as in th e W o rld C on­ federation fo r Physical T h erapy, w e m ust give full effort to attem p tin g to f u lf il. th e responsibilities we share as physical therapists. A s difficult as it m ay be, at times, to ignore the differences betw een o u r responsibilities as citizens of different countries, we m ust d eliberately set aside those differences if we are to m eet o u r w orldw ide responsibilities as physical therapists.” Those of us th a t stay at hom e could also benefit fro m this message an d cope in this m a n n e r * with,, internal as well as in tern atio n al differences an d unites,-as' physio­ therapists to w ork fo r th e w elfare o f the coinniunities we serve first and the profession w e belong to ' secondly. F I S I O T E R A P I E VAN DIE REDAKSIE DIE MULTI DISSIPLINERE SPAN H ie rd ie uitgaw e is m et re h ab ilitasie gem oeid. Effek- tiew e en doelgerigte re h ab ilitasie h e t gelei to t die daar- stelling van die m ultidissiplinere span. V ir som mige, w at soveel jare alleen die m as moes opkom , is die beginsel van spanw erk som s vreem d en lei to t gevoelens van ongem ak, onsekerheid en selfs uitgesproke aggressie. W at behels so ’n span? D is geen kunsm atige onding w at spesiaal geskep m o et w ord nie. D it bestaan u it die persone van die m ediese en verw ante beroepe w at eerstens b esk ik b aar is, tweedens op ’n spesifieke tydstip no odsaaklik is ter reh ab iliterin g van d ie pasient en derdens (en belangrikste van alles) belang stel in die p asien t en sy w elvaart. D ie lede van so ’n span benodig egter besondere eienskappe om w are re h ab ilitasie te verm ag. E lkeen m oet goeie kennis d ra van sy eie bekw aam hede en verm oe, en veral sy beperkinge. E lkeen m o et o ok w eet w at om van ander lede van d ie span te verw ag, w aar hulle inskakel, en bereid wees om hulp aan te vra op die regte tydstip. D a a r sal egter heelw at sogenaam de “grys a re a s” wees w aar twee of m eer lede se pligte en verm oe oorvleuel, w aar h u lle m ek aa r kan aanvul of vervang. D is duidelik d a t lede v an so ’n span aan- p a sb a a r en buigsaam m oet wees. Soos enige span, m o et d aar ’n leier wees w at die pas aangee, besluite neem en /o f bekragtig en die finale veran tw o o rd elik h eid dra. T rad isio n eel (en vol- gens w et tans in Suid-A frika) vul die geneesheer (of senior geneesheer w aar m eer as een betro k k e is) h ierd ie rol. E nige an d er lid k an egter d ie rol vul en d it sal h o o fsaak lik van om standighede in elke geval afhang. D ie voordeel verbonde aan spanw erk is tydsbespa- ring, die voorkom ing van v erw arring by die pasient en spanlede, en die d aarstelling v an die beste en ge- integreerde diens aan die pasient. D a a r is egter ook die gevaar d a t die pasient aan te veel persone op een tyd-. stip blootgestel w ord en d i t , kan lei to t psigiese uit- p u ttin g en selfs verw arring. D ienslew ering kan onnodig ingew ikkeld ra a k en die pasient kan “o p d ro o g ” en so oorw eldig wees d a t die ein d resu ltaat negatief is. D ie belangrikste en hoofvereiste is egter kom m uni- kasie — m et m ekaar, die pasient, sy naasbestaandes en die gem eenskap w aarheen ons d ie pasient terug wil stuur. D aarso n d er kan geen re h ab ilitasie plaasvind nie. - R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )