Credentials are documents that prove a person is qualified to work in a profession. For example, a medical license and a diploma from a medical school would be the credentials a physician would use. A profession is a specialized work function within society, generally performed by a professional. ... In most countries, only persons licensed by specified government-approved professional associations are allowed to practice medicine. ... A diploma (from Greek diploma) is a document issued by an educational institution, such as a university, that is one of the following: A certificate testifying that the recipient has successfully completed a particular course of study, A deed conferring an academic degree. ... Jump to: navigation, search Medical school generally refers to a tertiary educational institution (or part of such an institution) which is involved in the education of future medical practitioners (medical doctors). ... Physician examining a child The word physician should not be confused with physicist, which means a scientist in the area of physics. ...

In foreign diplomacy, credentials are documents which ambassadors, diplomatic ministers plenipotentiary, and charges d'affaires hand to the government to which they are accredited, for the purpose, chiefly, of communicating to the latter the envoys diplomatic rank. It also contains a request that full credence be accorded to his official statements. Until his credentials have been presented and found in proper order, an envoy receives no official recognition. The credentials of an ambassador or minister plenipotentiary are signed by the chief of state, those of a charges d'affaires by the foreign minister. The United Nations, with its headquarters in New York City, is the largest international diplomatic organization. ... For other uses, see Ambassador (disambiguation). ... A Minister is a true diplomat (not merely consular) accredited by one sovereign state to another who ranks below an ambassador. ... The term plenipotentiary (from the Latin, plenus + potens, full + power) refers to a person who has full powers. ... Generally, accreditation is the process by which a facility becomes officially certified as providing services of a reasonably good quality, so that the public can trust in the quality of its services. ... Jump to: navigation, search Traditional diplomacy Until the early 19th Century, each European nation had its own system of diplomatic rank. ... Until the early 19th Century, each European nation had its own system of diplomatic rank. ... A head of state or chief of state is the chief public representative of a nation-state, federation or commonwealth, whose role generally includes personifying the continuity and legitimacy of the state and exercising the political powers, functions and duties granted to the head of state in the countrys... A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ...

This article incorporates text from the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, which is in the public domain. Jump to: navigation, search Supporters contend that the Eleventh Edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica (1910-1911) represents the sum of human knowledge at the beginning of the 20th century; indeed, it was advertised as such. ... The public domain comprises the body of all creative works and other knowledge—writing, artwork, music, science, inventions, and others—in which no person or organization has any proprietary interest. ...