Introduction. Formulation of the problem. For the effective performance of professional functions, any specialist, first of all, must meet the requirements of the profession in which he will take place as a specialist and has the potential for professional growth and self-improvement. At the same time, each person has potential capabilities (both individual-personal and functional) can, in the end, become a high-class specialist. First of all, we will talk about one of the main conditions for professional formation, growth, and then self-improvement – the individual psychological qualities of a specialist. However, in order to consider those individual psychological qualities necessary for a specialist to effectively perform professional functions, we must determine approaches to the problems of professional development in the scientific literature as a whole.Purpose. The purpose of the article is to determine the views of scientists on the problems of professional development of specialists. The objectives of this article are solved in the definition, substantive characterization and constituent elements of the phenomenon of professional development of specialists.Methods. The article is devoted to the issue of review of theoretical and methodological approaches to issues of professional development specialists. The focus of the article on describing the theoretical achievements of science and scientists coverage views on the content and structure of professional development specialist. Attention is focused on the development of a specialist is not focusing on the stage of choosing a future profession, as well as the possibility of improving the appropriate level of professional skills.Originality. Statement of the main material. The professional development of any specialist occurs directly during professional activity, determines the appropriate interaction of socio-economic, biomedical, psychological, pedagogical and sanitary-hygienic features. In the professional activity of a specialist, it is precisely the professionalism of the activity of each specialist that should be improved under certain development conditions. Considering the phenomenon of professionalism itself, it should be noted that it is determined, first of all, by the qualitative characteristics of the professional activity of a specialist, namely: high level of qualification and competence; the development of professional skills and bringing them to the level of skill (that is, original – a kind of specific tasks); search for appropriate solutions and implementation of both everyday and non-standard tasks, accuracy and timeliness of tasks; professional performance; stability of productive activity over time. Separately, it should be said about the effectiveness of professional activities of a specialist, precisely because effectiveness should be one of the sources of professional development. It should be explained why we think so. First of all, the effectiveness of a specialist’s professional activity can be defined as the difference between the final result obtained and those resources that were used to achieve the result. We can divide resources into material, production and human. Material resources (in our case, financial) are the material (or raw materials) from which the products are made. Productive resources are the means of production by which the material (raw material) must be transformed into the final product. Human resources are the most valuable "capital" in achieving the final result – the creation of a product. Depending on which way, with the help of which technologies the final product will be created, we can determine the costs of “human capital”. We must talk about the fact that the quality of the final product largely depends on the quality and modernity of both material and production resources. However, in our opinion, in our case, special attention should be paid specifically to the personality of a specialist. How a person approaches execution, how he is able to calculate the ability to perform certain tasks, and minimize risks – depends mainly on him-self. In another way, with the equality of material and production resources, it is better for the tasks of visionary, quick-witted and decisive people.Conclusions and prospects for further research. Thus, having examined the approaches of scientists to such a concept as professional development, the following conclusions can be drawn:1. Professional development of an individual can be considered as a complex of a person’s response, conditions and characteristics of achieving a specific goal on the way to achieving an appropriate state of professionalism.2. The following should be considered as components of professional development of a specialist: achievement of a high level of professional qualification and competence; development of professional skills to the level of mastery; search for appropriate solutions and their implementation, both in everyday and in non-standard situations; accuracy and timeliness of tasks; the productivity of professional activities, as well as the stability of productive activities over time.We see the further development of the problems of professional development of a specialist in determining the necessary individual psychological qualities of a person that enable her to efficiently perform functional tasks according to her position.