Trusting Competence & Expertise
Trustees must also be competent and careful. Baier
[1986] speaks of "judging what should count as failing to meet
trust, either through incompetence, negligence, or ill will"
[p.238].18 The demands placed on trustees are great.
Trustees must not only possess a good will, but must also show
discretion before they try to meet the demands of trust. They
should be open with themselves and others as to their
abilities and when appropriate should try to gain the
competencies necessary for them to care for those things
potentially entrusted to them. For example, professionals
should keep their knowledge and skills current and should refuse to practise when they judge themselves incompetent.
Only in this way, can they be said to be trustworthy. In
Chapter Four, I discuss the importance of competence in nurses
who are defined as a professional group of health care
experts.