Week 9-1 Discussion Post 1 Document

Deprofessionalism does not change the profession itself because it allows the under

qualified to gain experience. For example, most college students that graduate with

bachelor’s degrees do not have the experience that most high paying jobs are looking for,

however if the interview went well and you have someone that can speak on your

character in a job scenario the job will more than likely be interested in the person begin to

train them properly. The profession is not affected because sometimes the greatest leaders

come from the ones that lack experience but are willing to learn and progress in their

position. According to Kritzer, the more that tasks can be compartmentalized and the more

that knowledge-based tools can be applied, the easier it is to assign the task to a person

believe that the experience that they have they may not have to be trained properly.

professionals of similar but lowered skill sets throughout medicine, there is still a need for

the subject matter expert. We can see this taking place in nearly all aspects of healthcare.

The nursing umbrella covers nurse aides, licensed practical nurses, licensed vocational

nurses, registered nurses, nurse practitioners, nurse midwives, and nurse anaesthesiologist,

to name a few. The provider umbrella includes doctors, surgeons, physician assistants

(PA), nurse practitioners (NP), and nurse-midwives. There are also the doctors that

undertake a certain specialty, like dermatology or orthopaedics. Additionally, I know a

few Doctors of Physician Assistant Studies PAs and, likewise, NPs can also be Doctors of

their field.

graduating with his Bachelor of Science in Pre-Medicine and Chemistry. The IPAP

provides a Bachelor of Physician Assistant Studies at the end of the first half of the PA

program, which consisted strictly of classroom learning (U.S. Army Medical Center of

Excellence, n.d.). After completion of the second half, consisting of clinical rotations, the

IPAP provides a Master of Physician Assistant Studies, at which point one can take their

Physician Assistant National Certifying Exam (PANCE) and become a licensed Physician

Assistant U.S. Army Medical Center of Excellence, n.d.).

While a Physician Assistant is not a doctor, they are able to provide similar levels

of care, prescribe medication, and conduct many of the same examinations and tests that a

doctor can provide. This, in turn, frees up the doctor to spend their time on patients or

of the matter is, we are increasing our lifespans and our survival rate. This increases the

need for competent health care providers and practitioners. Allowing for pathways to these

professions that don’t require such a time commitment allow for a quicker entrance into

the profession without so much fluff. There are a multitude of medical situations and

scenarios where a doctor is necessary, but there are also just as many health care situations

where a doctor’s expertise isn’t required. Educated and credentialed providers and

practitioners can fill in many of the gaps in health care, particularly in terms of staffing

and patient access.

The dark side of DE professionalization of healthcare and physicians, specifically,

is the introduction of consumerism to the industry, e.g., the focus on customer satisfaction

and the pressure doctors feel to provide services that they might not otherwise recommend

to an adamant patient. Physicians understand that their reimbursement is partly determined

negated the need for highly qualified physicians from the world of healthcare because

professional values are attached to technical competencies, standards, and unique

about mastery of a complex body of knowledge, competence, integrity, altruism, self-

regulation, keeping up to date with knowledge and promotion of public good (Bhugra,

2013).” However, as patients have technology that has provided greater access to

information and patients are generally better informed, the cultural authority of medicine

has declined. That perception is exacerbated by the increasingly large intrusion of

governments into the healthcare system, though some argue that state involvement in

health care crystallized medical power (Coburn, 2001). Either way, the consensus is that

medical power is not what it once was (Coburn, 2001).

Coburn (2001) suggested that the notion of professionalization as a strategy of

control over a particular work domain, which includes as a key component professional

autonomy and self-regulation, implies continual struggles over such control. The rise of

managed care, for example, threatens physicians’ power structure. In some cases,

physicians must get authorization from an insurance company before performing tests or

referring for x-rays or other types of diagnostic imaging. Physicians and the medical

profession no longer have all the power to define the health agenda for individual patients

and the broader society. Additionally, as nurse practitioners and physician assistants

(originally intended to extend physician services to help close health care access gaps in

concern for patient safety, citing that the education differential between physicians and

2019). That belief seems to be supported by research. Leach, et al. (2018) found that a

slight majority (55%) of study participants indicated that they prefer physicians over non-

physician providers because of their technical expertise. So, while physicians struggle to

maintain a dominant position in the health care arena, they remain relevant as part of a

multidisciplinary care team.

Deprofessionalism is on the rise as there is a decreasing distance in education keeping

medical professionals from patients (Coburn, 2001). I think that deprofessionalization in

and regulations that are in place. Although times are changing and people are increasingly

okay will seeing the “assistant” there continues to be many instances in which patients

don’t want to see the PA, they want to see the doctor. I think that has to do with people’s

perception and respect for the training and education of a doctor who has to put in many

more years of education versus that of a PA who can finish their education in 6 years

instead of 8-10.