A story is told of a somewhat famous musician who came to a nursing home to visit an aged relative. While walking through the hallways he became lost and met an elderly woman, who was carefully observing him. Sensing the opportunity for ego gratification, the musician asked, "Do you know who I am?" The patient replied, "No, but go to the front desk, [and] they'll tell you who you are."
In the 1990's many have been eager to tell cytopathologists and cytotechnologists "who they are." Congress, regulatory agencies, state governments, the legal establishment, and others have intervened in, or have otherwise sought to influence, the practice of cytology. The purpose of this editorial is not to catalog these interventions, as other publications have already done so, particularly concerning the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments of 1988. ' Instead, I will discuss three topics: 1) the general notion of professionalism in cytology, 2 ) the critical role that pathologists and cytotechnologists must play in defining the standard ofpractice of cytology, and 3) the effect of new technology on both professionalism and the standard of practice.
Reed and Evans' have defined 10 components of professionalism:
- The profession is in possession of a circumscribed and socially valuable body of knowledge.