Professions and Professionals Flashcards
Micro
Individual professionals
MAcro
refer to changes or characteristics of professional occupations
Defining features of a professional
Education, training License Certain demeaner and appearance Language Title Prestige Not easily replaceable high degree of commitment Pay Autonomy – scheduling, decision making
Deprofessionalizaiton vs professionalization
occupational level
maco
professionalism vs unprofessionalism
individual level
Attributes of a profession
Abstract specialized knowledge
Autonomy
Authority
Altruism
Abstract specialized knowledge
Knowledge base: Theoretical Practical Technical Esoteric and mystified Increasingly specialized
esoteric and mystified
Use professionals use – that most general people don’t understand
Doctors notes – might have little meaning for us
Set boundaries around who has access around their knowledge base – by using this challenging language
Acquire it by hearing and using the language
Part of the function is that they’re protecting their turf, so only insiders can communicate with each other
Increasingly specialized
Negative consequence
Many of these knowledge based occupations are growing so fast
You cant be a generalist anyone
Rather you are a specialist so you can keep on top of this rapidly growing knowledge base
The depth of their knowledge is very deep
Narrower range but the depth of knowledge is quite deep
Ex: research methods and work – but she knows a lot about these two subjects in depth
Autonomy
Discretion in decision making
Professional standards may limit autonomy
Code of ethics to ensure accountability
self governance
occupational autonomy
discretion in decision making
How these occupations maintain control over their members
Professional occupation – discretion and decision making and freedom from external control, and other bodies telling them what to do
Can determine if you maintain, or take away your occupations
society
As a society we have granted them control over their members and what is considered part of their activities
Society grants them the permission to perform certain activities
Professional standards may limit autonomy
Profession that sets standards on what you can and cannot do (standards)
Conflict over boundaries across different occupations
Physicians vs pharmacists – battle of who can write prescriptions
Settled that only certain types of prescriptions pharmacists can write
Negotiating the boundaries for who can do a particular task
code of ethics
Also standards of what you have to do to maintain to be able to continue in the practice
Up to your peers (evaluated by them) as to whether you are doing a good job, and maintaining those standards
Expect members to follow
Problems when an occupation is monitoring themselves?
If monitors by peers – its not in their interest
Not in their best interest to identify individuals who do not meet their standards
Whether they should only be allowed to monitor their own members, other people say they make it too public
Authority
Authority over clients
Authority over other occupations
Clients
A lot of authority over the people they are serving
The distinction between Clients and customers
Clients
someone who needs help,
relying on their service provider
Incapable of doing the job they are asking the professional to do
Ex: doctors, therapists, creating a will
Follow what the professionals say
Expected not to question what a professional says
Paying for their advice, and expected to comply with the decision they give us
Ex: medical confession – compliant patients (those who follow the doctors orders)
Clients now – act like
Authority over occupations
“but that’s not my job” something you want to pass to someone else
Ex: health services: physicians at the top, nurses, nursing assistants, nursing aids
Active in terms of maintaining boundaries in different occupations
Authority helps different occupations set the boundaries and what they don’t have to do
Customers
customers – shop around, research everything, (doctor, lawyer) we challenge the professionals
Customers
“are always right”
they have a lot more bargaining power with the relationship
more likely to shop around and get the best deal
enter the relationship knowing what they want
Altruism
Assumption that people in these occupations are there to help other and make a difference, economic rewards are not that important, rather the intrinsic rewards are
Idea of being able to help others that drive people to become members of these occupations
Community rather than self interest
Service ethic
Trust
challenging about altruism
Whether the people in those professions are acting out of altruistic means or providing a service ethic
There is a purpose for believing that these people are doing their job for our benefit and not theirs
In most cases we really have to trust these individuals
My interests and concerns are more important than theirs
Critique of the attribute approach
Attributes as Means of Occupational Control
Esoteric knowledge
Autonomy and internal governance
Authority over others
Altruism and self sacrifice
Criticisms of attribute approach
When we look at these attributes, these are strategies that certain occupations have been successful in terms in maintaining control
Rather they are strategic and using these attributes so that they can maintain occupational control
esoteric abstract knowledge
strategic because it excludes people from knowing what they are talking about and interacting with them
Exclusionary tactic
autonomy and internal governance
Not allowing outsiders to evaluate the behaviour of your works
Authority over others
These occupations have absolute control over their clients, has been challenged the most out of all of these
More publicity of behaviors that are unacceptable amongst professional
Shop around to see different opinions
Much more access to knowledge
Altruism and self sacrifice
Harder and harder for people to believe in when we see the salaries some of these occupations make
Unnecessary referrals/treatment, or billing for work that has not been done
The profession continuum
True Professions
Semiprofessions
Paraprofessions
true established professions
Who is in them, and the jobs that they do
Ex: lawyers and doctors
No one questions about whether or not they are professionals
Male dominated
Semiprofessions
Female dominated Some attributes of the true profession Serving people – their clients have less status or power Nurses, social workers, teachers Usually helping people of a lower status
Paraprofession
Slightly lower than semiprofession
Helper positions
Ex: nursing assistants that help nurses, paralegals, dental hygienists, teaching aids
Doing the least desirable tasks
Changing nature of professions
how to get more control over an occupation or how an occupation loses its status or control
The notion of control or dominance was key to understanding why some occupations are professional or not
Professional Dominance
Professionalization as a Means of Control
Professional dominance
In order for a occupation to obtain professional status
Exercise control over 3 things
- Who can do the work
- How you prepare people to do the work (train)
- Who gets to evaluate the performance
Who can do the work
Certain requirements
Law school – works with the law society
Professional associations work closely with the professional schools
The professional associations that set the criteria for these schools
In our best interest
Also limit who can go in and who are going to come out of the program
Practicum levels
Social work was not a profession before
Standardization of requirements
Two year diploma before or a masters at UofC
What do you need to be certified?
Same with education before
Changing nature of professions
Deprofessionalization
Proletarianization and Corporatization
Deprofessionalization
Looking at the extent to which the relationship between the profession and their clients have changed
Referring to how they have lost a monopoly over their knowledge base
When professions start losing their control or monopoly over their knowledge base for their occupation
1) public may feel the profession is not working out of our best interest
2) see that there are changes in their authority
Ex: medical profession – concerns about the deprofessionalization
Because patients are becoming more knowledgeable about medical information, looked as consumers instead of clients
Done through the access to technology
-We are looking at how an occupation has lost control or monopoly over its knowledge base
-Lost their relationship to -technology – people go to google
Lose control over their client base
Technology is changing – access to more information and losing control over the knowledge base and authority in the relationships with their clients
Technology – being monitored
-Ex: electronic patient files – allows other peoples to evaluate physicians and their decision making
Proletarianization and corporatization
Work by themselves or work with collogues that work together for a clinic
- Referring to when what happens when professions see members as now salary employees of large organizations
- Lose control over the work process
- Follow rules and procedures that are set out by their employers
- Large bureaucracies may have different expectations – efficiency and profit
- Larger companies what efficient patient care
- Hate when you cant solve a problem in 10 mins
