In a healthcare setting, deprofessionalization decreases the knowledge or skills of a
single profession and breaks it into multiple professions (Science direct, 2021). An
example of deprofessionalization in a healthcare setting is breaking a medical physician
into a secondary unit called a medical assistant. Another example of deprofessionalization
is a laboratory technologist job broken into units called laboratory technician and
laboratory assistant. These secondary units would not eliminate the original healthcare
profession.
a a a I believe that healthcare organizations will continue using deprofessionalization in
the industry. With the staffing shortage is on the rise, the healthcare industry believes that
creating secondary units of a profession would make more people work for a certain
position without extensive training. Another reason why healthcare organizations would
continue using deprofessionalization in the future is to reduce the cost of care (Reed,
1987). The cost of healthcare is steadily rising, and many people cannot afford to seek any
medical services. When using a secondary medical professional, it would allow the patient
to receive medical treatment at a lower cost. One effect of deprofessionalization is the low
level of trust that patients give to secondary healthcare professionals. When a patient
receives any medical treatment from a medical assistant or a technician, they do not
believe that they are receiving the proper care that they should be receiving.
References
1. Reed RR, Evans D. “The Deprofessionalization of Medicine: Causes, Effects, and
Responses.” JAMA. 1987;258(22):3279–3282.
doi:10.1001/jama.1987.03400220079041
2. Science Direct. (2021). “Deprofessionalization”. Retrieved from
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/social-sciences/deprofessionalization
