Abstract
From the period immediately following the second world war, western (orthodox) medicine – both as a philosophy of medicine and as a professional guild of medical professionals actively practicing medicine – has made progress in leaps and bounds, especially considering the advances in technology and associated enterprises. Over the last thirty years, however, the practice of orthodox medicine has taken a turn for the worst despite progressive philosophies and tenets of basic practice as offered by the professional bodies that regulate how medicine is operated and implemented. Current healthcare environments are in a chaotic state of affairs, most notably due to issues involving affordability of medical professionals. It is argued that the social-professional status of medical doctors allow exorbitant and unreachable demands on governments for increased salaries. The title-based supremacy of doctors within the occupations domain is not supported by what they are offering society at large, and it compromises the ability of medical institutions and governments to provide better and more affordable healthcare. From a sociological point of view, this paper examines the social-religious history of such social class-based occupational power and dominance, and paves the way toward an overhaul of current medical education frameworks that proactively will ensure greater occupational equity in healthcare settings, across all healthcare disciplines tasked with patient care and improvement of healthcare services. In essence, doctoral titles should only be awarded after successful completion of postgraduate doctoral studies, and a new breed of medical professionals must emerge, able to contribute more meaningfully to the advancement of medicine as a profession, as well as toward increased standards of healthcare and improved health services delivery.
Highlights
From a sociological point of view, this paper examines the social-religious history of such social class-based occupational power and dominance, and paves the way toward an overhaul of current medical education frameworks that proactively will ensure greater occupational equity in healthcare settings, across all healthcare disciplines tasked with patient care and improvement of healthcare services
At the center of orthodox medicine stands the medical doctor, and it is to this medical professional that we look as the ambassadorial provider of medicine and efficient medical services
Mere undergraduate study should not be enough to enforce such a change of professional title, as it predisposes the medical profession to be the ultimate home of ulterior-motivated professions-based exchange of services within the professional world: if one’s main aim is to achieve an expedited change of title, it should not be achieved through studying undergraduate medicine – the state costs per medical student are a matter of deep concern, especially if more than a third of all medical graduates never planned to practice as medical professionals (e.g. Burch et al, 2011)
Summary
The definition of professions is a highly disputed matter, but Evetts (2003) provides a useful approach: “professions are essentially the knowledge-based category of occupations which usually follow a period of tertiary education and vocational training and experience”. A survey of the current purview of medical literature, including medical sociology, seems to suggest that the exact nature of the title-based elevated status of medical professionals is overlooked in discussions regarding the effects of professionalism on practice, the reference to it here as the inconspicuous monster lurking beneath the once-glossy surface of medical practice It is to this end that the issue of medical professionals’ status becomes a major undertaking in the ensuing discussion: in order to rid medical practice of a most destructive social vice, we need to study and understand the precise nature of the unjustified elevated status of medical professions, and with this endeavor must emerge a new understanding of issues pertaining to medical professionalism that impact on our daily lives
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