Lack Of Professional Identity Research Articles

Influence of Work Support on Social Workers’ Professional Identity: The Mediating Mechanisms of Job Autonomy and Organizational Commitment

Social workers are professional forces providing social services. Currently, the lack of professional identity among Chinese social workers threatens the sustainability of social service provision. Based on the job demand-resource model, this study explores the influence of work support on professional identity and further verifies the mediating roles of job autonomy and organizational commitment. A sample of 5930 social workers was obtained from the first wave of the China Social Work Longitudinal Study. The empirical results indicated that increased work support significantly improved social workers’ professional identity. Specifically, work support promoted social workers’ professional identity by stimulating their job autonomy and organizational commitment. Practical implications for social policies and practices are discussed. This study points to a need for future studies to examine the influencing factors on social workers’ professional identity in detail and to design relevant interventions and programs for this population.

Doctors in Chinese public hospitals: demonstration of their professional identities

BackgroundAn increase in the number of medical disputes and violence against doctors indicates a lack of trust in the medical profession by society in Chinese public hospitals. Empirical evidence confirms that one cause is the lack of professional identity demonstrated by doctors. Medical professionals are required to maintain high standards of competence and moral responsibility, and demonstrate qualities such as respect, compassion, integrity, responsiveness to needs, and commitment to sound ethical practice in order to maintain professional privilege. These principles and appropriate professional conduct are the foundation of the professional identity of the medical profession.MethodsA quantitative approach was adopted by distributing paper-based questionnaires to doctors and patients in two hospitals (Level III and Level II) in Jinan, Shandong province, China.FindingsIn total, 614 doctors and 1184 inpatients on discharge from the surgical and internal medicine units of the two hospitals participated in the survey yielding 90% response rates. The study confirmed the variation amongst doctors in demonstrating their professionalism in terms of respecting patients’ views and preferences when determining diagnostic procedures and treatment plans, and when making ethical decisions. Although 90% patients indicated that they showed respects to doctors, close to 20% of the doctors disagreed that they received high respect from patients. About 12% of doctors prescribed unnecessary diagnostic procedures to patient for the purpose of generating profit and more than 20% of patients indicated that they gave gifts to doctors in order to receive better treatment.ConclusionsAlthough about 80% of doctors demonstrated certain aspects of professionalism required by practitioners, the inconsistency across the medical workforce may exacerbate tense doctor-patient relationships. A review of medical curricula and focus of the internship program is required in order to assist medical graduates with forming required professional identity in order to improve patient satisfaction and better clinical outcomes. To be effective, a more systematic approach is recommended.

Challenges for social work education in China: findings from three metropolises

ABSTRACT Social work education was reintroduced into China in 1988 by the Communist Party of China. Since then, many research studies have been initiated both in Chinese and English aimed at understanding the development of social work education and practice in Mainland China. However, a growing body of literature has not focused much on the students’ perspective and the challenges they face in social work education in contemporary China. In order to contribute to addressing this gap, the present study reports on qualitative interviews with a group of social work postgraduate (n = 33) students from five schools of social work covering Shandong, Shanghai and Beijing provinces in the country. The study finds that there are four major challenges for social work education in China: (i) the use of Western concepts in the Chinese context; (ii) a journey from the unknown to the known; (iii) first-generation learners; and (iv) the lack of professional identity.

Eight decades of existence and search for an identity: educators perspectives on social work education in contemporary India

ABSTRACT This article discusses social work educators’ perception of the challenges for social work education in India. Literature on social work education, including the curriculum, practice and pedagogy, provided the framework for the study. The study reported on the results of qualitative interviews conducted with 33 social work educators across five schools of social work located in three metropolitan cities in India ‒ New Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata. The study finds that there are four major challenges for social work education in India: (i) the problem of definition; (ii) the lack of a regulatory framework; (iii) diversity among the schools; (iv) the lack of professional identity.

Pharmacists' lack of profession-hood: Professional identity formation and its implications for practice.

Understanding the internalized, psychological sense of being a professional may provide important insight into understanding pharmacists' behaviours and attitudes in practice. It is difficult to directly or quantitatively measure an internalized psychological state such as profession-hood. An indirect method was selected in which pharmacists who were themselves patients or caregivers were identified and invited to discuss their experiences, as a vehicle for better understanding how they relied upon personal and professional identities during high-stress, impactful times. A total of 17 community pharmacists from southern Ontario participated in this study. Regardless of demographic background, participants reported little reliance on professional identity, knowledge or role as a pharmacist when advocating for themselves or a loved one. These findings suggest that community pharmacists have incomplete, separated or functional (rather than existential) professional identities. This lack of professional identity may influence behaviours in practice such as interactions with other health care professionals or patients or self-confidence in clinical decision-making. Further work is necessary to better understand the socialization and professional identity formation of pharmacists to help support them through the current evolution of pharmacy towards more interdependent and complex clinical roles and decision-making.

The present situation and analysis of the countermeasures of endowment caregivers and their professional cognition in China

This paper reviews the present situation and analysis of the countermeasures of endowment caregivers and their professional cognition in China and puts forward the corresponding countermeasure.This paper briefly describes the current endowment nurse team, analyzes the current situation of endowment nurse career cognition, including the lack of professional identity, lack of high-level goals, lack of professional knowledge.This paper suggestted to strengthen the policy support, education training and cultivation of a positive professional identity and right professional values, so as to improve the cognition level of endowment nurse career, improve the old-age care service quality, and to better satisfy the increasing needs of the elderly endowment nursing. Key words: Nursing institutions; Nursing staff; Occupational cognition

Improving local health through community health workers in Cambodia: challenges and solutions

BackgroundVolunteer community health workers (CHWs) are an important link between the public health system and the community. The ‘Community Participation Policy for Health’ in Cambodia identifies CHWs as key to local health promotion and as a critical link between district health centres and the community. However, research on the challenges CHWs face and identifying what is required to optimise their performance is limited in the Cambodian context. This research explores the views of CHWs in rural Cambodia, on the challenges they face when implementing health initiatives.MethodsQualitative methodology was used to capture the experiences of CHWs in Kratie and Mondulkiri provinces. Two participatory focus groups with CHWs in Mondulkiri and ten semi-structured interviews in Kratie were conducted. Results from both studies were used to identify common themes. Participants were CHWs, male and female, from rural Khmer and Muslim communities and linked with seven different district health centres.ResultsFindings identify that CHWs regularly deliver health promotion to communities. However, systemic, personal and community engagement challenges hinder their ability to function effectively. These include minimal leadership and support from local government, irregular training which focuses on verticalised health programmes, inadequate resources, a lack of professional identity and challenges to achieving behaviour change of community members. In addition, the CHW programme is delivered in a fragmented way that is largely influenced by external aid objectives. When consulted, however, CHWs demonstrate their ability to develop realistic practical solutions to challenges and barriers.ConclusionsThe fragmented delivery of the CHW programme in Cambodia means that government ownership is minimal. This, coupled with the lack of defined core training programme or adequate resources, prevents CHWs from reaching their potential. CHWs have positive and realistic ideas on how to improve their role and, subsequently, the health of community members. CHWs presented with the opportunity to share learning and develop ideas in a supportive environment would benefit health initiatives.

Problem prekaryjnej pracy w kontekście dyskusji o polityce społecznej w Polsce

The problem of precarious work in the context of the discussion on social policy in PolandThe text consists of two parts. The first is an introduction to the problem of precarious work. The expres­sion “precarious work” itself is derived from the word “precariat”. This term refers to people who are forced to undertake poor quality employment which is mostly precarious, temporary, low-paid, lacks promotion prospects, and is undertaken on the basis of flexible contracts etc. The easiest way that the prekariat can be characterized is by using such references as “junk” contracts, unsecured employment, inhumane overtime, lack of professional identity, low pension contributions or their total absenceThe second part of the text presents precarious work from the perspective of Polish social policy. Above all, a speech by Elżbieta Rafalska, the Minister for Family, Labour and Social Policy was used. The speech was presented during a national conference entitled “Prekariat The Perspective of Catholic Social Science”, held in Częstochowa, Jasna Góra on 21 June 2016. Precarious work leads to negative social phenomena. They can be characterized briefly as “brain wast­ing”, which deprives young people of the opportunity to develop, and gives them a sense of being an un­necessary generation. In this way, the ethos of work is undermined. It ceases to be a service to another person, and becomes primarily a means of obtaining means of living and an instrument of the employer’s domination over employees.Thee dilemmas posed by precarious work create considerable challenges for social policy in Poland. It is not enough to combat precarious, unstable employment, but work itself needs to be healed, so that its dignity is restored. That is why one should start with the fight against unemployment. Guy Standing’s ideas are worthy of consideration, as they propose a social policy that supports non-precarious workIn this respect, the ethical guidelines contained in the John Paul II’s encyclical “Laborem exercens” still appear to be valid.

Conocimiento didáctico del contenido en química orgánica: Estudio de caso de un profesor universitario

From Science Education, the Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK) is making an important contribution to the analysis of teacher training and the improvement of professionals. As such, a study was conducted to characterise the PCK of a teacher holding a degree in chemistry teaching; he teaches organic chemistry concepts at a higher education institution. The research involved a case study and was qualitative in nature; document analysis was also used as an analytical technique; besides, information was collected by use of Representations of Content (ReCo), Pedagogical and Professional Experience Repertoires (PaP-eR), document analysis of the participating teacher’s work, classroom observation, and interviews. With these tools, we were able to determine the strengths and weaknesses of the participating teacher, and from there, to infer aspects that needed improving in training undergraduates in chemistry. I found that, in this case, the teacher sees himself as chemist and not as chemistry teacher (i.e. there is a lack of professional identity); perhaps, because it is the dominant factor in his disciplinary knowledge at the expense of topics related to the knowledge of school context, as well as historical-epistemological and psycho-pedagogical knowledge. The latter indicates, as a characteristic of the participant’s PCK, that this PCK is incipient due to the disarticulation of its components, which weakens the teaching of organic chemistry concepts. This suggests the need to strengthen the initial training of teachers in their role as teaching professionals, and to integrate components of the PCK.

Book Review: “The Low Visibility of Low Vision: Increasing Awareness through Public Health Education

Low Visibility of Low Vision: Increasing Awareness through Public Health Education, by Rosemary Janiszewski, Shelly L. Heath-Watson, Adrienne Y. Semidey, Arlen M. Rosenthal, and Quynh Do, published in the 2006 Special Supplement of the Journal of Visual Impairment & Blindness, Volume 100, pp. 849-861. As the director of the Professional Preparation Program in Vision Rehabilitation Therapy at Salus University and a practicing certified vision rehabilitation therapist, I am responsible for educating and training students, colleagues, consumers, families, and the community about the critical role vision rehabilitation therapists retain throughout the entire vision rehabilitation process. Consequently, I consider advocacy to be an integral component of my professional ethics and practice. Over time, however, my advocacy pursuits have led me to conclude that the vision rehabilitation therapy profession, and other vision rehabilitation professions (low vision therapy and orientation and mobility), are not well known to many of the eye care professionals, consumers, and communities we have been trained to consult and serve. Thus, the continuum of care provided to those individuals with visual impairments (that is, blindness or low vision) falls short. It has been reported that the prevalence of visual impairment is expected to increase as the population lives longer (World Health Organization, n.d.); however, despite valuable global actions to prevent visual impairment, such as the Vision 2020 initiative launched by the World Health Organization and the International Agency on Preventing Blindness, there remains a need for vision rehabilitation intervention when sight-saving measures do not prevail. It is at this juncture in the continuum of care in which individuals experiencing vision loss should be referred to vision rehabilitation therapists and other vision rehabilitation professionals for treatment and training to restore independence and safety. In my role as an educator and advocate for vision rehabilitation therapy, I search for literature and research materials that support the theory, practice, and relevancy of vision rehabilitation service delivery. In that search, I discovered a JVIB article entitled, Low Visibility of Low Vision: Increasing Awareness through Public Health Education, and I was immediately intrigued by the article's emphasis on the need for a health education program to increase awareness of low vision, a that would correspond to professional practice in vision rehabilitation therapy. The article discussed in detail the components of an effective public health education to increase the awareness of low vision by: identifying the intended audience and formulating an appropriate communication strategy to disseminate the message, pre-testing the communication strategy with the intended audience (that is, use of focus groups); implementing the strategy by collaborating with visual impairment organizations and creating educational materials, exhibits, and programs that further convey the message; and, finally, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of the communication strategy and identifying refinements where needed. This article spoke directly to one of the major challenges facing the profession of vision rehabilitation therapy today: lack of professional identity and awareness of vision rehabilitation therapy among eye care professionals, people with vision loss, and other members of the rehabilitation team. In April 2014, Salus University and Vision-Serve Alliance convened the Vision Rehabilitation Therapy, Strategic Planning, and Advisory Symposium to address these challenges. Participants included representatives from professional preparation programs, state vocational rehabilitation agencies, the Academy for Certification of Vision Rehabilitation and Education Professionals, consumer groups, and the Veterans Administration. …

Causes of Architect’s “Absence” in Green Building Practices

Beginning from an analysis of the green building evaluation and labeling projects reviewed, this paper has a comprehensive analysis on the low content of green design and obvious “absence” of architects in the majority of evaluation and labeling projects by use of the theories of green architecture and economics. The author holds that such “absence” is originated from the external economy and technical complexity of green buildings and attributes the causes to two aspects: First, there is no sound and effective incentive mechanism in the environment in which the architects are, especially the lack of professional identity and motivation of green design in architectural design appraisal, award and review criteria; Second, architects are less self-motivated, mentally backward and poor in comprehensive quality. Targeted measures are expected to advance the concept changes in the architectural education community, promote architects to transform thinking and enhance capacity and boost the “green” development of green buildings.

Itinerarios y dimensiones del proceso de precarización de los jóvenes

The article analyzes the process of insecurity or disaffiliation from the triple objective dimension related to the event and the permanent instability; the subjective dimension of living in the society of risk, lack of identity, and even job dissatisfaction with the inconsistency of preparation skills that can not be applied in the workplace, and the externalization of the non-recognition which gives the work an instrumental character; and, finally, the dimension of the loss of labor rights that are reflected both in employment situations, by the imposition of conditions that reflect the company's dependence on (requirement schedules and tasks, lowering wages, difficulty of having a collective voice to demand improved working conditions...) and unemployment situations, losing the psychological, social and economic integration of owning a work identity, and in many cases, not having the opportunity to apply for financial aid will maintain a minimum level of survival. From this objective, has adapted the scheme characterization precariat as a new social segment as described by Guy Standing (2013), with features such as diversification of routes precarious process, lack of professional identity, the loss of labor rights, with the failure of the seven forms of employment-related security, and experienced feelings (disgust, anomie, apathy and alienation). To this end, part of the qualitative description of in-depth interviews young people from 28-35 years affected by this problem in the region of La Rioja.

The Relationship Between Professional Identity and Burnout Among Occupational Therapists

ABSTRACTHealth professionals have been identified as a high risk group for job-related stress and burnout. This study builds on the existing literature to examine the links between burnout and the development of professional values as well as the broad scope of occupational therapy, which may act as a hindrance to establishing a concise and well recognized professional identity. One hundred and twenty six occupational therapists completed the Maslach Burnout Inventory and the Professional Identity Questionnaire. The factors that contribute to the relationship between a lack of professional identity in the field of occupational therapy and the levels of burnout among occupational therapists are identified and implications for establishing a strong and healthy workforce in occupational therapy are discussed.

Cuál es la labor profesional del maestro

This is a reflection on the question for the reasons of the teacher's lack of professional identity. We analyze whether the teacher sees himself as a mentor, a facilitator, a knowledge mediator, a class manager or a researcher. We believe that the work that teachers have developed mostly causes confusion when it comes to defining who they are and what their role is in education, moreover, probably if they ask themselves who they are, they have not an answer. This lack of professional identity on the part of the teacher is a problem that is currently experienced in classrooms and worse still, in universities where future teachers are educated. For this reason, it is necessary to ask, What causes such a professional defocus? What should be the role of the teacher? What should be his attitude towards education, facing problems, facing knowledge and facing the class? and if all these disadvantages arise, how should a teacher be educated to be able to feel and define himself professionally? These questions will be developed in the content of this writing, with two purposes, firstly I must identify myself as a teacher, being able to define who I am, my work and what are my professional goals, and secondly, so that people who read this essay reflects on their professional identity and their role as a producer of useful knowledge for society.

Docência no ensino médico: por que é tão difícil mudar?

Apesar do reconhecimento da necessidade de mudanças no ensino médico, a prática docente tem-se mostrado resistente a modificações. Este trabalho de revisão identifica os fatores que limitam mudanças na prática docente em Medicina. Entre eles, ressaltam-se a desvalorização das atividades de ensino e a supremacia da pesquisa, a falta de identidade profissional docente, a deficiência na formação pedagógica do professor de Medicina, a resistência docente a mudanças e o individualismo dos professores universitários. É necessário estimular o desenvolvimento profissional permanente dos professores de Medicina, como instrumento de reelaboração e de transformação desta prática.

Agents of Change or Unchanging Agents? The Role of Lawyers within Russian Industrial Enterprises

The transition from state socialism toward market capitalism has led to an almost endless supply of new laws and legal institutions. Industrial enterprises need to adapt to this new institutional regime. In-house lawyers are well placed to be agents of change in facilitating this adjustment. Using survey data from 328 Russian enterprises, the article examines the role of company lawyers, asking whether they have fulfilled this potential. Legal expertise is not in short supply, but lawyers are marginalized within the enterprise. They focus on established, routine tasks, such as handling labor relations or drafting form contracts, rather than on shaping enterprise strategies in the newer areas created by the transition, such as corporate governance or securities law. The failure of in-house lawyers to emerge as agents of change in Russia reflects a continuation of their low status during the Soviet era and the lack of professional identity among these company lawyers.

Health Information Science at UVic: The Student Perspective

The graduates and students of the School of Health Information Science (HIS) at the University of Victoria (UVic) have pioneered the Canadian sphere in health informatics since 1982. After six years of growth this co-operative education program has matured and establishment of a research base and graduate school has become a recent focus. In this context an evaluation of the HIS curriculum and co-op work experience from the student perspective was undertaken. Eighty-five persons, including 50 upper level students were surveyed. Thirty-five graduates were tracked and queried regarding their present employment, job satisfaction, future goals and perception of their professional status. In particular, students were queried on the retrospective value and/or shortcomings of the HIS co-op program. Their perceptions on the training that they have had or that they observe as leading to successful careers is documented. The student view on the ascribed role of 'change agent' and concerns regarding the lack of professional identity are noted. The implications of these findings on the future form of the Health Information Science curriculum and the direction of its educational model are subsequently discussed.

Training issues in the treatment of severely disturbed patients.

When beginning psychotherapists undertake the treatment of severely disturbed patients, we see a confluence of factors involving both patients and therapist which predispose to the development of predictable countertransferential responses. These have a strong impact on patient treatment as well as therapist training. Patients may bring to this process their difficulty establishing a working alliance, use of primitive ego defenses, and ambivalence about closeness. Therapists may bring their identification with patients, lack of professional identity, and limited development of introspective capacity. Supervisors, therefore, need to maintain an awareness of the unique needs of inexperienced therapists, and pay careful attention to the parallel process as a reflection of the therapist's identification with patient, facilitate a teaching-learning alliance which meets the student's needs both for praise from and emulation of a powerful therapeutic role model, grant permission for countertransferential feelings, and finally acknowledge joint responsibility between patient and therapist for such responses.