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Profession of Medicine

A Study of the Sociology of Applied Knowledge

With a new Afterword
"Must be judged as a landmark in medical sociology."—Norman Denzin, Journal of Health and Social Behavior

"Profession of Medicine is a challenging monograph; the ideas presented are stimulating and thought provoking. . . . Given the expanding domain of what illness is and the contentions of physicians about their rights as professionals, Freidson wonders aloud whether expertise is becoming a mask for privilege and power. . . . Profession of Medicine is a landmark in the sociological analysis of the professions in modern society."—Ron Miller, Sociological Quarterly

"This is the first book that I know of to go to the root of the matter by laying open to view the fundamental nature of the professional claim, and the structure of professional institutions."—Everett C. Hughes, Science

440 pages | 5-1/2 x 8-1/2 | © 1988

Medicine

Sociology: Medical Sociology, Occupations, Professions, Work

Table of Contents

Editor’s Introduction
Preface
Introduction
Part I. The Formal Organization of a Profession
1. The Emergence of Medicine as a Consulting Profession
2. Political Organization and Professional Autonomy
3. The Medical Division of Labor
4. The Form Characteristics of a Profession
Part II. The Organization of Professional Performance
5. Everyday Work Settings of the Professional
6. Patterns of Practice in the Hospital
7. The Test of Autonomy; Professional Self-Regulation
8. The Clinical Mentality
9. Profession as Organization—Formal and Informal
Part III. The Social Construction of Illness
10. Illness as Social Deviance
11. Sociological Types of Illness
12. The Professional Construction of Concepts of Illness
13. The Lay Construction of Illness
14. The Social Organization of Illness
Part IV. Consulting Professions in a Free Society
15. The Limits of Professional Knowledge
16. The Limits of Professional Autonomy
Afterword
Index of Names
Index of Subjects

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