Profession of Medicine

Profession of Medicine: A Study of the Sociology of Applied knowledge
Author	Eliot Freidson
Country	United States of America
Language	English
Genre	Nonfiction
Published	1970
Publisher	New York University

Profession of Medicine: A Study of the Sociology of Applied knowledge is a book by medical sociologist Eliot Freidson published in 1970. It received the Sorokin Award from the American Sociological Association for most outstanding contribution to scholarship and has been translated into four languages.^[1]

Peter Conrad argues that the book was the first book to apply sociological analysis to the profession and institution of medicine itself. The book contains many concepts that have affected our understanding of medicine including professional dominance, functional autonomy, clinical mentality, self-regulation, the social construction of illness, the connection between illness and deviance, illness as a social state.^[2]^: 144 Bosks draws comparison of with the ideas in the book to Max Weber's analysis on the role of technical rationality and profession expertise on decision-making in a democratic society.^[3]^: 289 Michael Calnon argues that the books sociological perspective is similar to that of structural pluralism where the medical profession is seen as a mediator between the state and the public, with the benefit of increased trust and reduced governmental costs.

^ "NYU's Freidson, Pioneer in Concept of Sociology in the Professions, 82". New York University.
^ Conrad, Peter (2007-04-01). "Eliot Freidson's revolution in medical sociology". Health. 11 (2): 141–144. doi:10.1177/1363459307074688. ISSN 1363-4593. PMID 17344268. S2CID 5188956.
^ Calnan, Michael (2015), Collyer, Fran (ed.), "Eliot Freidson: Sociological Narratives of Professionalism and Modern Medicine", The Palgrave Handbook of Social Theory in Health, Illness and Medicine, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 287–305, doi:10.1057/9781137355621_19, ISBN 978-1-137-35562-1, retrieved 2021-11-01

[1] "NYU's Freidson, Pioneer in Concept of Sociology in the Professions, 82". New York University.

[2] Conrad, Peter (2007-04-01). "Eliot Freidson's revolution in medical sociology". Health. 11 (2): 141–144. doi:10.1177/1363459307074688. ISSN 1363-4593. PMID 17344268. S2CID 5188956.

[3] Calnan, Michael (2015), Collyer, Fran (ed.), "Eliot Freidson: Sociological Narratives of Professionalism and Modern Medicine", The Palgrave Handbook of Social Theory in Health, Illness and Medicine, London: Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 287–305, doi:10.1057/9781137355621_19, ISBN 978-1-137-35562-1, retrieved 2021-11-01

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