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The public prestige of medical specialties: Overviews and undercurrents

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  • Rosoff, Stephen M.
  • Leone, Matthew C.

Abstract

This investigation offers a comprehensive analysis of the relative social prestige of various medical specialties. The specialties were evaluated in terms of ascribed esteem by a lay sample of 400 respondents. Several attributes were then tested in order to measure their contribution to overall prestige. The results affirm that a stable prestige hierarchy exists among medical specialties, with certain ones, such as surgery and cardiology, consistently ranked at the top, and others, such as dermatology and psychiatry, consistently resting at the bottom. A specialty's relative standing in perceived income and assigned social value are the best predictors of its hierarchical position, with income being the single best predictor. Moreover, the prediction of a specialty's prestige appears to improve significantly when both variables-- income and value--are considered inclusively.

Suggested Citation

  • Rosoff, Stephen M. & Leone, Matthew C., 1991. "The public prestige of medical specialties: Overviews and undercurrents," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 321-326, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:32:y:1991:i:3:p:321-326
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Rodriguez, Jenny K. & Procter, Stephen & Perez Arrau, Gregorio, 2023. "Reconfigured professional purpose in times of crisis: Experiences of frontline healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 329(C).
    2. Creed, Peter A. & Searle, Judy & Rogers, Mary E., 2010. "Medical specialty prestige and lifestyle preferences for medical students," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(6), pages 1084-1088, September.
    3. Jerry W. Kim, 2020. "Halos and Egos: Rankings and Interspecialty Deference in Multispecialty U.S. Hospitals," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 66(5), pages 2248-2268, May.
    4. Grue, Jan & Johannessen, Lars E.F. & Rasmussen, Erik Fossan, 2015. "Prestige rankings of chronic diseases and disabilities. A survey among professionals in the disability field," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 180-186.
    5. Johannessen, Lars E.F., 2014. "The narrative (re)production of prestige: How neurosurgeons teach medical students to valorise diseases," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 85-91.
    6. Album, Dag & Westin, Steinar, 2008. "Do diseases have a prestige hierarchy? A survey among physicians and medical students," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(1), pages 182-188, January.

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