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As promised, this week we will investigate other health professionals. Here is a partial list of medical care practitioners; this is not exhaustive!
physicians, dentists, pharmacists, physician assistants, nurses, advanced practice registered nurses, surgeons, surgeon’s assistant, athletic trainers, surgical technologist, midwives, dietitians, therapists, psychologists, chiropractors, clinical officers, social workers, phlebotomists, occupational therapist, physical therapists, radiographer, respiratory therapists, audiologists, speech pathologists, optometrists, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, medical laboratory scientists, and medical prosthetic technicians
But being a practitioner does not make you a professional. Nurses have had a rough time delineating their work as a profession.
For our purposes, a profession has three characteristics:
Autonomy to set educational and licensing standards
Technical, specialized knowledge
Public confidence in practitioners ethics (Parsons,1951) [and yes, this is the same Parsons of ‘sick role’ fame]
Investigate any means that medical care is practiced (see the list above). How does this method of medical care ‘stack up’ to the three characteristics of a profession. When is it not just a job? Just an occupation? Convince your group that this medical practice IS or IS NOT a profession.
Did your other students find what you found? Do you agree or disagree? If someone investigates nursing, then by all means, discuss why this has been SUCH a difficult issue for them (critical sociology will remind you to look at who has power, who wants the power, who doesn’t want to lose power, etc.).
