Labour Process and Professional Status: An Exploratory Case Study of Histopathologists in Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article intends making three contributions to the sociology of professions. Firstly, it examines empirically the way work is organised (labour process) for histopathologists in KwaZulu-Natal. Secondly, it demonstrates that concepts from labour process theory (LPT) and the sociology of professionals literature can provide useful ways to understand how work is organised for medical specialists and how this work organisation may contribute to the construction of professional status. Thirdly, the article contends that work on medical professionals tends to treat all medical specialists as a homogeneous professional category. It argues that the sociology of professions needs to recognise that intra-professional processes are fundamental to the ways in which specialist medical professions are constructed. An exploratory case study design is adopted and data collection occurs through a series of in-depth interviews with 16 histopathologists. The findings suggest: that understanding the labour process of histopathologists can provide insights into how professional status is constructed; that the labour process can act as a form of gendered gatekeeping into the profession; and that a broader empirical contribution is made by adding to the limited South African literature on the sociology of professions.