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The professions.

David W Chambers

The Journal of the American College of Dentists

|June 14, 2005

Summary

This study redefines professions like medicine and dentistry, proposing a five-part definition focusing on community, personalized care, and trust. Protecting these core elements is vital for professionalism.

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Area of Science:

Professionalism studies
Sociology of professions
Medical and dental ethics

Background:

Traditional definitions of professions focus on characteristics like prestige, specialized knowledge, and market control.
These characteristics, while useful, do not fully capture the essence of classic professions such as medicine and dentistry.
Historical evolution reveals taken-for-granted aspects of professionalism.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose a more comprehensive, five-part definition of professions.
To illustrate the evolution of professionalism using the medical profession as a case study.
To highlight the importance of protecting core professional characteristics for continued viability.

Main Methods:

Conceptual analysis and definition building.
Historical case study of the medical profession's evolution.
Identification of key components defining professionalism.

Main Results:

A proposed five-part definition of professions: community, customized private/personal treatment, diagnosis-based care, trusting relationships, and professional as agent.
Professional knowledge is characterized by a paradox: being both public/scientific and personal/irreducible.
The medical profession's evolution serves as an example of professional change.

Conclusions:

The proposed five-part definition offers a deeper understanding of professionalism, particularly in medicine and dentistry.
The inherent paradox of professional knowledge requires careful consideration.
Preserving the five essential characteristics is crucial for the future of professions like dentistry.

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