What Is a Profession

The Oxford dictionary defines the word profession as a paid occupation, especially one that involves prolonged training and a formal qualification. Therefore a profession is a vocation that is founded upon specialised educational training where the main focus is to provide a service to others.

Coupled with research on the definitions of the word profession and research on what the word means to individuals it is clear to see that there is a definite misconception that the word profession and occupation, have the same meaning. Individuals seem to perceive both words as being interchangeable. Generally, both are definitions of the work that one does for a living. (Naidoo and Wils, 2001)

This confusion in the meanings of such words is somewhat to do with history and the changes that have occurred in order for certain jobs to now be described as professions. The reason for this is; traditionally there were only three professions. Medicine, law and divinity. (Wilensky, 1964). These were known as 'learned professions'. This meant that you had to have been schooled on the subject areas within an education facility i.e. university or college.

This idea of occupations becoming professions were marked by milestones that saw changes in the way jobs were perceived. Jobs were no longer just jobs. Society needed a way of distinguishing between a job that you had to have and education to do and jobs that did not. This was pushed further by the up and coming young 'professionals' who felt the need to be distinguished as being somewhat superior to the normal workforce. (Bayles, 1988).

The first milestones saw the first universities and training schools being established, the first local and nation associations established the introduction of codes of professional ethics and state licensing laws. (Mumford and Pal, 2012).

With these now in place changes were now starting to happen. The big question however was whether or not these changes were for the better!

The original set of criteria about 'professions' were put in place by Abraham Flexner in 1915. He stated that 'professions involve essentially intellectual operations with large individual responsibility'(Bayles, 1988). This meant that professions needed to derive their raw material from science and learning and manipulate this material working up to a practical and definite end. Professionals needed to possess an 'educationally communicable technique' and have a sense of self-organisation and ability to or for one to become 'increasingly altruistic in motivation'. (Bayles, 1988). This meant that a profession will set a standard and adhere to those standards without a need for personal gain.

In 1957 Ernest Greenwood stated that all professions need to possess the following;

* Systematic theory - Professionals need to have a knowledge set that is based on abstract principles, more so than operational procedures, and thus must pursue an extensive formal education.

* Authority - Professionals have significant control over the nature and extent of the services that they render, because they serve clients who are generally unable to judge the quality of those services, independently.

* Community sanction - Professionals are subject to licensure or certification that outlines varying degrees of occupational jurisdiction in accordance with criteria over which they have considerable influence.

* Ethical codes - Professionals must adhere to standards of behaviour that are explicit, systematic, and public service oriented enabling them to prescribe colleague relations that are cooperative, and supportive; and are enforced by their associations or governing bodies.

* Culture - Professionals have a career orientation that leads them to high personal involvement in their work and satisfaction with not only a good salary, but also symbols such as titles and awards. These are vital to show to others one's achievements.

In 1964, Harold Wilensky noted that an increasing number of full-time occupations were seeking to become recognised as professions. He laid out a fairly typical sequence in which new institutions would be established along the path to "professionalisation". These included training schools, universities, local associations, and national associations. . He also observed that the traditional model of professionalism emphasised autonomous expertise and service. (Bayles, 1988)

After these findings rose to the surface a body of research quickly developed in which researchers undertook case studies of varying occupations to determine the level to which these traits were exhibited and where certain jobs were in fact 'true' professions.

After close analysis of their meanings one can confidently state that the word profession has somewhat more of an advanced meaning than occupation. Definitions dwell on the concept that an occupation has to meet certain criteria in order to qualify as a profession. A profession needs extensive educational training and usually has definite credentials that pose as proof of one's educational prowess usually in the form of university degree certificate of training. Once a person has obtained these credentials they are now known as a professional. They are now able to pursue work in their chosen field. This individual is now paid for his or her knowledge and expertise. This is because society is confident that he or she is competent and knowledgeable enough in that field in order to provide a service to other members of society. With this comes a lot of responsibility as the professional is now under the watchful eye of society who is now reliant on them to live up to very high expectations. In some cultures the word professional is used to describe someone who is well educated, earns a salary and enjoys considerable work autonomy. These individuals are looked upon as more distinguished members of society. (Bayles, 1988).

In order for an individual to qualify as being a podiatrist, one had to adhere to certain criteria just the same as for any other medical profession. Due to the personal and confidential nature of the professional services and thus the necessity to place a large amount of trust in them, most professionals are subject to strict codes of conduct and practice that helps to preserve rigorous ethical and moral obligation. This is exactly the same for podiatry.

A podiatrist must be state registered with a degree in podiatry approved by the Health Professions Council and be registered as a member of Society of Chiropodists and Podiatrists. This is a requirement of many other professions as professionals have to work under the watchful eye of regulatory bodies that are put in place to ensure that all members all adhering to