I found the research process for this week’s discussion topic to be
very challenging. The term “deprofessionalization” in the context of
health care has many different interpretations. One source describes
medical deprofessionalization as the process of transitioning from
learned professionals to skilled workers (Duvefelt, 2016). Another
source describes it as the decreasing distance in both knowledge and
education between a caregiver and the patient (Kritzer, 2001). Yet
another source states that the deprofessionalization of physicians
relates to the demand that they take on more managerial
responsibility, which blurs the lines between a profession and an
occupation (Moller & Kuntz, 2013). However you decide to define
deprofessionalism in the medical field, one truth remains:
deprofessionalism is happening and is increasing. However, I do not
believe that it is eliminating the learned professional from the
equation.
The management of many diseases, including chronic diseases such
as diabetes, hypertension, depression, and cardiovascular disease,
require extensive knowledge, experience, and independent
judgement that can only be accomplished through multidisciplinary
teams led by physicians (Duvefelt, 2016). Less educated and less
skilled medical staff predominantly provide care based on established
protocols and guidelines; however, complex diseases cannot be
handled by “one-size-fits-all” care protocols, and this approach is
detrimental to patient care outcomes (Duvefelt, 2016). As the
medical science field continues to expand and the knowledgebase
grows, independent judgements by extensively trained and educated
physicians will become even more critical (Duvefelt, 2016).
Studies have shown that care provided by mid-level practitioners is
of lower quality than care provided by physicians, including higher
rates of unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions and lower quality of
referrals among the mid-level practitioners (Cayley, 2016). Modern
care models have shifted from the solo-physician model to the
multidisciplinary team led by physicians, and I do not see the
physician exiting this care model in the future (Cayley, 2016).
Deprofessionalization breaks down the public’s trust in the health
care system, removes physician and nurse autonomy, and restricts
independent clinical judgement (Erlich & Gravel, 2021). Obviously,
this is not the direction our industry wants to take.
Cayley, W. (2016). Will mid-level practitioners replace primary care
physicians? The bmj opinion. Retrieved March 1, 2022
from https://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2016/04/05/william-cayley-will-
mid-level-practitioners-replace-primary-care-physicians/
Desdemona, M. & Kuntz, L. (2013). Physicians as managers:
deprofessionalization versus collaboration. International Journal of
Management, 30(3), 86.
link.gale.com/apps/doc/A339919482/AONE?
u=clemsonu_main&sid=googleScholar&xid=ac934c7e. Accessed 1
Mar. 2022.
Duvefelt, H. (2016). From Learned Professionals to Skilled Workers:
The Dangerous De-professionalization of Medicine. Retrieved March
1, 2022 from https://acountrydoctorwrites.blog/2016/03/06/from-
learned-professionals-to-skilled-workers-the-dangerous-de-
professionalization-of-medicine/
Erlich, D. & Gravel, J. (2021). Professional Identity Misformation and
Burnout: A Call for Graduate Medical Education to Reject
“Provider”. J Grad Med Educ, 13(2), 167–169.
doi: https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-20-01100.1
Kritzer, H. M. (2001). Deprofessionalization. Deprofessionalization -
an overview. ScienceDirect Topics. Retrieved March 1, 2022, from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/deprofession
alization
