A semiprofession is an occupation that requires advanced knowledge and skills but is not widely regarded as a true profession. Traditional examples of semiprofessions include social work, journalism, librarianship, teaching and nursing.[1] Such fields often have less clear-cut barriers to entry than traditional professions like law and medicine, and their practitioners often lack the degree of control over their own work that has been traditionally associated with professionals such as doctors and lawyers.[2]
In addition, semiprofessions tend to have been historically identified as "women's work," which has exacerbated prejudices against regarding them as "true" professions regardless of the amount of skill involved.[3]
In most semiprofessional fields, efforts at professionalization are ongoing.
The question of whether nursing is properly considered a semiprofession in the present day is hotly debated.[4][5] Arguments in favor of continuing to regard nursing as a semiprofession have included the toleration of part-time work and nursing's traditional subordination to medicine in making treatment decisions.[5] Arguments in favor of regarding nursing as a profession, rather than a semiprofession, include the extensive postsecondary training requirements, formal certification as a registered nurse, self-regulation, and the existence of formal codes of professional ethics.[5]
- ^ Hodson, Randy; Sullivan, Teresa A. (2007). The Social Organization of Work. pp. 278–279. ISBN 9780495003717.
- ^ Arfken 1998, p. 358.
- ^ Arfken 1998, p. 359.
- ^ Gordon, Suzanne (2005). Nursing Against the Odds. pp. 72–74. ISBN 9780801472923.
- ^ a b c Hiscott, Robert D. (1998). Career Paths of Nursing Professionals. pp. 4–6. ISBN 9780886293536.