Professional Norms Research Articles

Reporting client-initiated threats and violence in home care services

Summary Home care workers often work alone and are geographically distant from colleagues, managers, and security services, placing them at a high risk for client-initiated violence. Studies have shown that home care workers are subjected to significant degrees of such violence, yet there is an indication of underreporting. Based on 25 individual and group interviews with 79 staff from various types of home care services in Sweden this study aims to enhance our understanding of why home care workers choose to report or not report violence. Findings Using a theoretical lens of emotional labor, the findings reveal that, in the face of violence, workers manage their emotions in accordance with organizational and professional norms. This contributes to and perpetuates a view of client-initiated violence as something that workers should endure, manage, and prevent, rather than acknowledge and report. In the long run, this idea shifts the focus away from the organization and its responsibilities, redirecting it toward the individual worker. Applications As the findings suggest that violence is often minimized and normalized, finding a common definition of client-initiated violence in the organization could relieve workers from having to define and, at worst, reinterpret violent incidents. Furthermore, norms contributing to an understanding of violence as a professional failure should be addressed. Organizations and cultures that facilitate swift reporting, provide organizational support and work against the stigmatization of those who report are likely to create safer and better work situations for their home care workers.

When Personal Identity Meets Professional Identity: A Qualitative Study of Professional Identity Formation of International Medical Graduate Resident Physicians in the United States

International medical graduates (IMGs) account for 25% of the physician workforce in the United States, yet little is known about their professional identity formation (PIF). This qualitative study explores the process of PIF in IMG residents with special attention to how they integrate their intersectional marginalized personal identities. Method: Using a social constructivist approach, the researchers conducted semi-structured individual interviews with 15 IMG resident physicians in the United States. The authors analyzed the data using a constant comparison approach and identified themes by consensus. Results: Participants described their PIF journey beginning before starting residencies in the US. Their PIF was challenging due to structural barriers associated with their immigrant status. Furthermore, participants reported more difficulties with PIF if they did not look white. When their pre-existing professional and personal identities clashed with the American professional norm, the residents suppressed or compartmentalized these pre-existing identities. However, participants also reported that their diverse personal identities could be assets to the provision of care for diverse patient populations. Conclusions: This study reveals the identity tension experienced by IMGs in their PIF journey and the different strategies they employed to navigate the conflicts with American professional norms. This study suggests reimagining PIF frameworks to cultivate a more diverse physician workforce.

Facing the paradox of professionalizing peer roles in MH services: how addressing self-disclosure with self-determination theory might help.

Peer Support Workers (PSWs) play a crucial role in recovery-oriented mental health services. They offer support and hope by sharing their personal experiences and recovery journeys. However, transitioning from voluntary self-help roles to paid positions within statutory systems is not merely a technical shift. This change creates inherent tensions and conflicts, stemming from the integration of a peer model within a medical framework. I refer to the interface between these models as the "Professional-Peer Paradox" (PPP). At its heart, this paradox questions whether and how PSWs can integrate a role that relies on self-disclosure of shared lived experiences within a system rooted in professional knowledge norms delivered unidirectionally to service recipients. Using a whole organizational approach, I propose leveraging the autonomy-supportive environment concept from self-determination theory (SDT; Deci & Ryan, 2000) to promote self-disclosure in mental health services. I highlight the complexities involved in Peer Support Workers' (PSWs) use of self-disclosure (lived experience) within statutory mental health (MH) services. I suggest that PSWs can better commit to their unique roles by structuring multiple peer roles with varying levels of self-disclosure and creating a culture that fosters peer practice. Overall, applying a SDT systems' framework to the practice of self-disclosure can enhance the occupational identity of PSWs, establishing their unique position within the spectrum of mental health professions globally.

Introducing Excellence: Gender and the Introductions of Faculty Finalist Candidates in Engineering Job Talks

Professional cultures—distinct systems of meanings, rituals, and hierarchies—can reinforce social closure processes and can be a potent source of social inequality. This paper examines gender inequality in the faculty hiring process in academic engineering. This is a theoretically useful case in which a strong professional culture with meritocratic ideals exists alongside the underrepresentation of women. Previous studies of faculty hiring often find that women are devalued, yet few studies examine this process in real job searches nested within professional communities. We analyze the introductions of 175 finalist candidates by department faculty hosts, just before the candidates begin their high stakes job talks on their original research. We find that, compared to statements introducing men candidates, those introducing women are less likely to acknowledge and proclaim their research excellence, and they are more likely to contain irrelevant and inappropriate content. We argue that the professional cultural schema of scientific excellence is culturally masculine and can either highlight or obscure the introducers’ framing of candidates’ research competence, potentially anchoring audience expectations. The job talk ritual also helps socialize early career engineers into professional norms and understandings. We develop theoretical and policy implications for the study of gender barriers to employment in and beyond academic STEM.

How Preceptor Behaviour Shapes the Future of Medical Professionals.

Preceptors play an indispensable role in shaping the future of healthcare. They bridge theoretical learning and practical clinical expertise in a rapidly evolving medical education landscape. Their influence extends beyond knowledge transfer, embodying the values, attitudes, and professionalism essential to competent medical practice. Bandura's Social Learning Theory posits that individuals learn through observation and modelling. Applying this theory supports the assumption that trainees acquire skills and professional norms by observing preceptor behaviour, a process known as vicarious learning. They transmit clinical competencies, ethical standards, and interpersonal skills critical for patient-centred care. Despite their significance, challenges such as increasing workloads, diverse trainee needs, and the complexities of modern healthcare often impede their ability to mentor effectively. Preceptors shape trainees' professional identities and ethical standards, which are significantly influenced by the hidden curriculum, the set of unspoken or implicit lessons conveyed outside the formal curriculum. Globally, there is growing recognition of the need to support and enhance the role of preceptors in medical education. Due to several challenges, some factors might prevent preceptors from maintaining their role model status, including the need for experience, continuous learning, and adaptation to diverse trainee needs. Strategies such as engaging in reflective practices and implementing effective stress management techniques are crucial for preceptors to navigate these barriers and uphold their status. However, few studies have synthesised the various dimensions of preceptor influence, including role modelling, communication skills, and the hidden curriculum. This review aims to fill this gap by exploring the variable role of preceptors in shaping medical trainees' professional development. It highlights the theoretical underpinnings of preceptorship, discusses the challenges preceptors face, and proposes evidence-based strategies to enhance their impact on future healthcare professionals.

Uncomfortable interviews: A research journey of discomfort and how to make the most of it

How does discomfort affect research interviewing? Recent contributions suggest that researchers do not always experience discomfort as problematic but also as productive. We explore our experiences of, and strategies for, uncomfortable interviews. Based on experiences of interviewing right-wing populist Twitter activists in the United States and Sweden, we make four claims. First, discomfort may arise throughout the research process with multiple origins, e.g. the content of the interviews, emotions expressed or held back, security concerns, and tensions between professional, social, and ethical norms. Second, we show that most of these concerns are not necessarily obstacles to overcome, but might contribute to more reflexive and insightful conversations depending on how and when they arise. Third, discomfort pinpoints tensions and dilemmas within our research projects, which may not always be resolvable. Fourth, discomfort can thus be productive as we learn, adapt, reconsider and articulate our research choices in the wake of discomfort.

Global Comparison of Codes of Ethics for Nurses: A Mixed-Method Collective Case Study Differentiating Aspirational and Mandatory Ethics.

To identify the characteristics and compare the codes of ethics enacted by the Korean Nursing Association and International Council of Nurses. A mixed-method collective case study. This study adopted interpretive approaches comprising case definition and selection, data collection, analysis and interpretation. Based on the developed aspirational versus mandatory ethics analytic framework, we differentiated the aspirational and mandatory codes of the Korean Nursing Association and International Council of Nurses. The Korean Nursing Association placed greater emphasis on aspirational ethics (73.3%) than the International Council of Nurses (53.6%). The Korean Nursing Association addressed legal implications regarding adequate services and patient safety, whereas the International Council of Nurses emphasised informed consent and authorised practice. Compared to the Korean Nursing Association's code, the International Council of Nurses' code had one additional chapter and 67 more units. The additional chapter focused on global health. Some implications can be considered for future revisions of the code of ethics for Korean nurses. Informed consent needs to be addressed as a legal implication for respecting the patient's right to self-determination. Furthermore, nurses' attention to global health could be discussed in the context of globalisation. The findings of the analysis of the current codes of ethics of national and international nursing organisations may provide scientific evidence for future revisions. An evidence-based revision of ethical guidelines, as proposed by the findings, underscores the importance of fostering a moral identity consistent with established professional norms and values for nursing. We adhered to the Standards for Reporting Qualitative Research. Given that this study is based on the literature, namely the codes of ethics, there is no direct/indirect involvement of patients or the public.

PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS AND EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: ANALYSIS OF PEDAGOGICAL CORRESPONDENCE

The article presents the results of a study analysing the compliance of the content of educational programs in pedagogical universities for primary school teacher training with the norms of the Professional Standard for Teachers. The research aimed to identify «problem areas» in the content of teacher training educational programs and develop recommendations for stakeholders on improving continuous pedagogical education. A quantitative content analysis method was applied to analyse the programs. Based on the teacher standard competency framework, a table of frequency factors for compliance was developed. Using this research tool, educational programs from national, and regional universities, and a pedagogical institute in a monocity were studied. The study has limitations regarding the testing of a single assessment tool and the number of programs presented. The research results indicated that the program from the national university had the highest compliance with the teacher standard norms. Moreover, knowledge components significantly dominate educational programs. The content of educational programs revealed that professional teaching and development competencies of teachers have low-frequency indicators according to the Professional Standard norms. Based on the data obtained, recommendations were developed for stakeholders to further improve continuous pedagogical education.

‘I don’t believe in the neutrality of research. OK?’ Mapping researchers’ attitudes toward values in science

ABSTRACT Background: Codes of conduct for research integrity provide ambivalent guidance on the role that the values of society as well as political and economic interests can or should play in scientific research. The development of clearer guidance on this matter in the future should consider the attitudes of researchers. Methods: We conducted 24 semi-structured interviews with holders of grants from the European Research Council and performed an inductive thematic analysis thereof. Results: We developed 4 themes reflecting 4 main attitudes of researchers toward the interactions between values and science: awareness, concern, confidence, and embracement. While interviewees recognized that science is not completely value-free (awareness), they still seemed to hold on to the so-called value-free ideal of science as a professional norm to minimize bias (concern, confidence). However, they showed awareness of the beneficial influence that values like diversity can have on research (embracement). Conclusions: Codes such as the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity tend not to problematize the tensions that emerge from having the value-free ideal of science as a norm and being guided by the values of society. Our findings suggest the time might be ripe for research integrity codes to address more directly the value issues intrinsic to science.

Dis-continuity in Continuity-of-Care: a pathway for more equal access to mental health care services?

Abstract Background Access to healthcare is core to achieving universal health coverage. Reaching and obtaining appropriate health care services requires engagement by health care organizations and users. For people with mental illness, access emerges as a continuous process, reflecting oscillating health conditions. This challenges aspirations of continuity of care (COC), but we know little about the experiences of users. Methods We carried out observations of interactions between professionals and users (n = 18) and semi-structured interviews with users, professionals, and managers (n = 33) in the specialised mental health services in Central Denmark Region and FACT-inspired teams in three municipalities. We also conducted 3 focus groups with regional and municipal professionals from these teams. Data was analysed through a qualitative thematic analysis. Results From the perspective of users, COC builds on the acknowledgment of their entire life situation. For users, this is about making connections between their past, present and future lives. Past experience affect their present abilities to follow treatment and influence future hopes and expectations. The acknowledgment of these connections often translates into spaces of discontinuity in continuity, where users need occasional breaks from treatment but worry about being excluded from treatment. Crucially, the organization of the FACT-inspired teams allows for flexibility in the intensity of visits and treatment. The norms of professionals also support users’ perspectives on COC, as the norms focus on building trust in the relations between users and professionals. Conclusions One important step to achieve more equal access is to integrate the social world of users. This requires organizational and professional approaches that allow for user needs for dis-continuity in COC. Key messages • For mental health service users, continuity-of-care includes breaks from treatment (discontinuity). • More equal health access requires adapting continuity-of-care to needs as perceived by users.

The institutionalization of digital compliance

PurposeThis research paper investigates how companies incorporate digital compliance, particularly data security and protection, as a fundamental aspect of corporate digital responsibility (CDR). We address the gap in understanding the institutionalization of digital compliance as a part of CDR.Design/methodology/approachUsing institutional theory, we assess the impact of coercive, mimetic and normative forces on digital compliance. We used survey data from 162 predominantly large German companies and analyzed it through ordinary least squares (OLS) regressions.FindingsMimetic forces, driven by competitor knowledge, substantially affect digital compliance. Normative forces related to professional knowledge are also influential, while coercive forces exerted by customers have no significant impact on the adoption of digital compliance. In a supplemental analysis, the study highlights the moderating role of organizational agility.Research limitations/implicationsCDR is not limited to digital compliance. Future research should explore higher levels of CDR and consider stakeholders beyond customers. The focus on large German companies may limit generalizability.Practical implicationsThe findings stress the importance of understanding competitive landscapes and professional discourses. Managers should be aware of these institutional forces and incorporate them into strategic planning for digital compliance and CDR.Originality/valueThis research extends institutional theory to digital compliance, offering insights into CDR-related corporate behavior and strategy, emphasizing the importance of competitor awareness and professional norms to manage digital risks.

“Begging to be heard”: The Profession’s Exclusion and Marginalization of Neurodivergent Librarians

While libraries are increasingly implementing practices and services designed to serve neurodivergent patrons, such efforts have not yet been extended to neurodivergent library employees, resulting in a lack of research or best practices for workplace neuroinclusion. This research addresses that gap by investigating neuroinclusion in public and academic library workplaces and identifying barriers to and enablers of inclusion and empowerment. This work highlights the voices of neurodivergent librarians and their journey of negotiating identity and deploying embodied knowledge to navigate the barriers and enablers they encounter in their workplace and profession. This study will inform how libraries can alter their workplace environment, practices, and professional norms to improve the recruitment, retention, and advancement of neurodivergent librarians. Historically, neurodiversity research has been conducted on neurodivergent people from a medicalized perspective, focusing on diagnosis and characteristics of individuals and proposing interventions or changes to the individual or their behavior. This study instead centers neurodivergence by adopting a neurodiversity paradigm and critical disability approach to conducting research with and by neurodivergent people themselves, in accordance with their priorities and values. This study will expand library literature by attending to the various intersecting identities of neurodivergent people and analyzing the impact of professional norms and expectations on the workplace experiences of neurodivergent librarians. Through the development of this unique critical approach to ‘centering neurodivergence,’ this work will also contribute a new research paradigm for future research on neurodiversity. Furthermore, this dissertation will highlight neuroinclusive workplace practices that librarians can enact in their library workplaces.

The Battle of Blair Mountain and the News Media: Professional Ideology and the Coverage of Bloodshed in West Virginia

In 1921, “labor trouble” was the euphemistic phrase used by newspapers to describe the often-bloody conflicts that took place between working miners and their bosses in West Virginia. The Battle of Blair Mountain was one such conflict, a well-known clash between striking miners and mine operators that was made famous because airplanes were used, however unsuccessfully, to drop bombs on the miners during the hostilities. This study examines the coverage of this event by the New York Times and Washington Post to understand the ideological assumptions of professional journalists at the time toward this brutal conflict. Using a historically informed analysis of newspaper content, this study shows how the professional norms of journalism culminated in a highly ideologically informed coverage of labor struggle, revealing upper and middle-class anxiety toward class conflict in early twentieth century America.

Frontline Worker Discretion in the For‐Profit Banking Industry: Lessons From Early Pandemic Relief Programming

ABSTRACTIn April and May 2020, the United States banking industry approved over $650 billion in federal relief funds as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP). Since then, extensive evidence of discriminatory lending has been revealed by investigative journalism and academic studies. Our study is based on 41 interviews with frontline banking professionals conducted during the days and weeks of the PPP rollout. We find that under the crisis conditions of the pandemic, capped funds in the PPP and built‐in incentives that encouraged certain types of loans, banking employees relied upon the professional norms and logic of the for‐profit sector. We argue that these norms and logics threatened the integrity of the PPP as a public relief programme by applying profit‐oriented priorities to resources marked for universal and fair distribution. Our findings offer new directions for theorising sector‐level differences in street‐level bureaucratic discretion in the context of mixed‐sector collaboration on public service delivery, particularly under conditions of crisis and urgency.

Well said!: Professional norms and female justices' evaluation of lower court opinion text

AbstractSupreme Court justices' opinions shape the contours of case law binding throughout the United States. Importantly though, justices do not write their opinions de novo. Rather, they routinely draw on lower court judges' opinion language when crafting opinions. In doing so, justices stretch the substantive impact of lower court judges' reasoning beyond the boundaries of their circuits. However, justices do not draw equally on lower court opinions; while previous work often ties this to judges' professional qualifications, we draw on work stressing female supervisors are more likely to enforce professional norms on subordinates. We argue female justices are more likely to draw upon lower court opinions complying with professional norms because of greater implicit norm internalization over the course of their careers. We test this proposition with a quantitative textual analysis of the justices' opinions and lower court opinions. We find support for our argument. This raises normative concerns about the overall impact of greater judicial diversity.

Reinstating Impartiality over Taking a Stance: Repairing Journalism Amid Right-Wing Attacks

ABSTRACT Two incidents of disputed reporting rocked the US news media in January 2019, one on the Trump-Russia investigation and the other on a confrontation involving a group of Covington High School students. This study explored how the center-left and the right-wing media spheres contested with each other in establishing a meta-journalistic discourse. We found that a center-left media sphere, debating on a paradigm shift for morally-engaged journalism, was up against a belligerent right-wing media sphere with an explicit ideological commitment to undermining the legitimacy of mainstream journalism. The discourse of paradigm repair dominated the center-left media response while the discourse for moral principles to support social justice was marginalized. Despite journalists’ well-intentioned efforts to repair professional norms around objectivity, such discourse in fact fueled more right-wing vitriol and hardened the narrative of media bias.

The Interconnectedness of Interprofessional Education and Professional Identity Formation

Professional identity formation (PIF) is the transformative process by which an individual, “thinks, feels and acts” in accordance with professional norms. In the pharmacy academy, institutions are required to support students on this transformative journey, however the most efficient and effective way to do so has yet to be determined. Interprofessional Education (IPE) in pharmacy programs typically consist of activities and assessments across most of the professional years. These IPE activities designed in accordance with the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC) Core Competencies include key elements of PIF such as, individual growth opportunities, socialization and “pivotal” moments that can propel an individual’s professional identity development. In light of curricular overload and attempt for curricular efficiency, pharmacy programs might consider using already existing IPE programming to help augment student PIF.

International medical graduates and PAs: A history and update.

During the 1980s and 1990s, international medical graduates (IMGs) sought legal and educational measures aimed at obtaining licensure as physician associates/assistants (PAs). Proponents of IMGs asserted that their ethnic backgrounds and identification with their respective communities could increase access to care for some segments of the population and therefore should be permitted pathways to qualify as PAs. A variety of legal measures were introduced into state legislatures in at least five states and were firmly opposed and defeated by the PA profession. Recent attempts by IMGs to obtain licensure as PAs have occurred in Puerto Rico and Arizona. In their haste to address healthcare access and satisfy various constituencies, state legislators and regulatory boards fail to recognize established professional norms. This is occurring as medical organizations are examining alternative pathways for state licensure of physicians who have completed training and/or practiced outside of the United States. PA organizations, particularly state chapters, must be vigilant in upholding qualifications for practice and licensure standards, and state PA organizations must work to convince legislators to avoid using PA professional regulations to solve a workforce issue that is essentially an issue of physician medical education remediation.

The effect of professional social norms on corporate environmental compliance

While previous studies demonstrate the importance of social norms for explaining the pro-environmental behavior of individual consumers, very few studies examine the role of social norms in the context of businesses’ pro-environmental decisions. This study contributes to the rich social norm literature by exploring whether professional social norms influence the compliance decisions of regulated chemical manufacturing facilities. To this end, the empirical analysis uses data on major facilities regulated under the U.S. Clean Water Act to estimate the link from the compliance history of other major chemical manufacturing facilities operating in the same state to an individual facility’s current compliance decision. Using a fixed-effects model that includes a large set of confounding factors, we find a significant positive effect of other facilities’ compliance history: improvement in the average compliance history prompts the individual facility to increase its own performance. By controlling for other plausible channels that link facility’s compliance decisions, we interpret this relationship as reflecting descriptive professional norms. The relationship proves stronger for facilities that are either geographically or sectorally closer.

Taxing experiences: theorizing negative incidents at the frontlines

ABSTRACT Negative interactions with citizens can leave frontline workers stressed, anxious, and traumatized. Here, we construct a theoretically interdisciplinary framework for understanding frontline negative incidents that was thus far lacking. Drawing from 1302 descriptions of Dutch and Belgian frontline tax officials’ most negative experience with citizens, we identify four overarching categories: citizen aggression, facing tragedy, violations of professional norms, and absence of support. We show the importance of non-aggression incidents and reveal how the nature, direction, and impact of these incidents differ and depend on workers’ sense-making processes. We outline consequences for the study of frontline encounters and for public agencies.