The Role of Healthcare Professional Societies

Abstract

Is healthcare a profession in its own right? And what is the role of professional bodies? Without professional bodies, there would be no professions.Profession is distinct from a job or an occupation, Profession’s distinguishing features – which include accountability, self-regulation, altruism, and a commitment to continued high standards – are actualized through the work of its professional bodies (1). Healthcare educators participate in professional bodies for many reasons to do with asserting and maintaining their place as professionals. There are three main reasons why individuals join a professional body: to demonstrate and maintain their membership of a profession; to uphold their profession’s ethical standards and enhance its special position within society and to maintain and develop their professional expertise. While each healthcare profession’s infrastructure will vary, it is usually possible to observe within each area of professional practice one or more organizations that serve the public by maintaining a register of practitioners and ensuring that standards are met,serve members by offering them opportunities to add to, explore, and communicate their expert knowledge base; and to serve the profession by acting as a collective voice, particularly on issues that affect them.