institutional licensure /in′stityo̅o̅″shənəl/ [L, instituere, to put in place, licere, to be permitted] , a procedure in which individual licensure for health professions would be abandoned and the responsibility for assessing professional competence would fall to the health care facility where the health professional is used. Proponents of the procedure maintain that health needs would be better and more flexibly served. Opponents maintain that knowledge, judgment, and competency are the products of a good basic education in the profession and that educators cannot teach the profession without a set of standardized expectations, as are now provided by government-controlled licensing procedures and certifying examinations. In addition, health care facilities may not have the expertise or resources necessary to evaluate the various kinds of health care providers.
