Adam Sampson: “I immediately recognised it as an organisation deeply rooted in the values of the profession”

Yes – the times when I encounter a word I have never previously heard of are now few and far between (although I doubt whether I fully grasp what some of them mean). Plus, I know enough of the day-to-day reality of working in a High Street practice, as well as a hospital or home setting, to have a sense of the key issues for members. But there are times when I realise that my life experience has been so very different.

Take education, for example. I completed a degree in a topic which some people would regard as completely useless; a good working knowledge of Latin and Ancient Greek, it turns out, doesn’t help a lot in the day-to-day of a modern career. The technical knowledge I now make use of – be it reading a set of accounts or understanding the detail of how the political process turns policy aspiration into concrete legislation – are skills that I have developed and honed since I left formal education.

Professional excellence is about more than knowledge and skill; it also depends on attitude, behaviour and values

AOP members, on the other hand, put the knowledge they acquired at university into practice every day of their working lives.

The defence of degrees like mine – and a common critique of vocational courses such as optometry – is that knowledge alone does not guarantee success. Knowledge is tied to its time and context; as research progresses and circumstances change, it can quickly become outdated. However, skills endure. Being able to read Plato or Aristotle in the original may have little direct practical use, but the analytical abilities developed in doing so transfer across roles and over time. It is no coincidence that most recruitment processes now prioritise competencies.

Of course, professional excellence is about more than knowledge and skill; it also depends on attitude, behaviour and values. Clinical expertise means little if it is overshadowed by rushing appointments or prioritising sales over patients. When patient interests are not placed first, professional standards slip – and so too can trust, reputation and regulatory standing.

The problem is – and it is a real problem – that while we can all agree that having a strong sense of values is essential in any profession, we do not necessarily agree on what those values should be and still less on what the behaviours are by which you should demonstrate your adherence to them. Take professionalism. Everyone endorses it, yet different organisations take very different views on basics such as dress codes or the use of informal language. And that is over a value that ought, in theory, to be straightforward.

Values lead us into some difficult places and cause divisions, even between people who fundamentally believe the same things, but they are essential to everything we do

Values and individuals

When we come to more controversial values – inclusivity, for example – it gets far more difficult. It is all very well for an individual or an organisation to commit to adapting their processes to a wide range of individuals, but those individuals may themselves have needs or exhibit behaviours which are hugely challenging. Take the example of the recent BAFTAs, where a guest with Tourette syndrome shouted out a racial insult, which deeply upset many of the attendees. An event which sought to be inclusive ended up creating a wedge between the disabled and black communities because remedial steps were not taken or mitigated fast enough in the immediate aftermath to repair the situation.

The fact that values are difficult to decide on and even more difficult to live up to is not a reason not to take them seriously or avoid them. I have spent my entire career in values-led organisations, be it in the charity, public or not-for-profit sectors. One of the reasons I joined the AOP was because I immediately recognised it as an organisation deeply rooted in the values of the profession. Values lead us into some difficult places and cause divisions, even between people who fundamentally believe the same things, but they are essential to everything we do. With a good sense of context, alongside care and respect, we can use our values to achieve far more together.