Sociology of the medical profession and para-professions

No other profession has been more central to the sociological study of professionalism than the medical profession. Theories of professionalism have evolved over the past century, from conceptualising professions as altruistic contributors of critical social functions to monopolists aimed at establishing market shelters, and to competitors vying for control over jurisdictions of work. These evolving conceptualisations reflect in part how the medical profession’s fate has changed over time. While scholars have observed an overall decline in the medical profession’s social and cultural authority as a result of organisational, economic, and cultural shifts in health care, studies have also pointed to its significant resilience to various countervailing powers. While sociologists studying professionalism in health care have primarily focused on the medical profession, greater attention has recently been given to para- or semi-professionals, which have proliferated over the last several decades and achieved expansions in their scopes of practice.