10) Professions and Professionalisation

Question 1

What is the professionalisation of medicine?

Answer 1

Professionalisation describes the social/historical process that results in an occupation becoming a profession. With Medicine, there is a clear idea about their role and body of knowledge which has formal registration to ensure they are the only ones who can do know it/do it.

Question 2

What is professional socialisation?

Answer 2

The process through which new entrants acquire their professional identities, via a formal and an informal curriculum.

Question 3

What are the three elements of professionalisation?

Answer 3

• Asserting an exclusive claim over a body of knowledge or expertise
• Establishing control over market and exclusion of competitors
• Establishing control over professional work practice

Question 4

Describe the differences between the formal and informal curriculums in the teaching of Medicine.

Answer 4

Formal education is focused on teaching knowledge and therefore is assessed by exams. Whereas, informal education is attitudes and beliefs picked up through looking at what others do and is not formally assessed.

Question 5

What is the Medical act of 1858? What is its significance?

Answer 5

An act which gives the GMC (body of doctors at that time) the ability to self-regulate and select the people they want. It’s significance lies in the fact it gives the profession power to decide who gets in and who gets out.

Question 6

What is professional self-regulation in terms of Medicine? What are some of the problem with this?

Answer 6

Doctors deciding on the selection and expulsion of others doctors. Problematic because:

• No new ideas come in
• Allows ability to keep bad doctors if that is what the GMC wanted/cannot see (Francis report)
• Favours the interests of “agents” (aka doctors) over “principals” (patients)
• Shared sense of personal vulnerability - safety in numbers

Question 7

How did the GMC change to tackle the inherent problems with self-regulation? What happened as a result?

Answer 7

They came up with tomorrow’s doctors, however, it wasn’t enough and therefore the government took more control. They added lay members, the people who are going for positions are selected independently and you can sanction people on less evidence.

Question 8

What are the key components of revalidation?

Answer 8

• Participate in annual appraisal
• Maintain a portfolio
• Have a positive recommendation from a responsible officer