1. Profession and Professionalism
Kiran S. Bajracharya

2. Profession
• Profession is the existence of a specialized
body of knowledge, possession and the use of
which enable to perform a highly useful social
function.
• Society depends on the smooth functioning of
the professions.
• The functional relationship of the professions
to social progress places them in an important
position in the social framework.

3. Profession
Profession is influenced by the following values
1. Duties and responsibilities
2. Personality
3. Economic outcomes
4. Professional ethics.
• These values guided the professional status of any
occupation.
• Any profession is based on professional ethics with
duties and responsibilities on his head so that he can
have economic outcomes with social obligation.

4. Professional Characteristics
• Specialized knowledge and Social Utility
• Attitudes and Professional Behaviors
• Social Sanction
• Desire to be a professional

5. Specialized Knowledge and Social
Utility
• An applied body of knowledge may be
composed of knowledge of a manual skill or
intellectual knowledge.
• It is the intellectual knowledge, which is of
primary significance as a criterion for
professions.
• Specialized knowledge and social utility is
related to ethics.

6. Attitudes and Professional
Behaviors
• The professional man, it has been said, does
not work in order to be paid: he is paid in
order that he may work. Every decision he
makes in the course of his career is based on
his sense of what is right, not on his estimate
of what is profitable.”
• The basic component is an unselfish concern
for the welfare of others.

7. Social Sanction
• Social sanctions are actually the resultant effect
of specialized knowledge and professional
behavior.
• Whether or not an occupation is a profession
depends, to a large degree, on whether society
views it as such.
• Social sanction is the granting of exclusive rights
of practice through the licensing power of the
state.
• Income and power with which society rewards
the professional.

8. Desire to be a professional
• The desire to serve a highly useful function in
society is one of the main stimuli to
professional behavior.
• Income must be sufficiently high so that the
gain from exploiting an individual patient
becomes an insignificant part of total income.

9. Traits of the Professional
1. Knowledge and skills of a profession.
2. Commitment to self-improvement of skills and
knowledge.
3. Service orientation.
4. Pride in the profession.
5. Covenantal relationship with the client.
6. Creativity and innovation.
7. Conscience and trustworthiness.
8. Accountability for his or her work.
9. Ethically sound decision-making.
10. Leadership.

10. Pharmacy as Profession
• Pharmacy has a legitimate claim to a theoretical
body of knowledge, to a growing degree of
socially sanctioned decision-making authority and
to a commitment of service functions as
articulated by a code of ethics.
• The management of prescribed medicines.
• The management of chronic conditions.
• The management of common ailments.
• The promotion and support of healthy lifestyles.

11. Professionalism
• Set of attitudes and behaviors believed to be
appropriate to a particular occupation.
• The active demonstration of the traits of a
professional.
• Constituting those attitudes and behavior
that serve to maintain patient interest above
self-interest, and displaying values, beliefs and
attitudes that put the needs of another above
your personal needs.

12. Elements of Professionalism
• Altruism - putting patients’ best interests first
• Accountability - to patients, to society, and to
their profession
• Excellence - exceeding expectations and
commitment to lifelong learning
• Duty - commitment to service in the
community

13. Professionalism in Pharmacy
• Professionalism is displayed in the way
pharmacists conduct themselves in professional
situations.
• Professionalism is created through a combination
of behaviors, including courtesy and politeness
when dealing with patients, peers, and other
health care professionals.
• Pharmacists should consistently display respect
for others and maintain appropriate boundaries
of privacy and discretion.

14. Structural Attributes of
Professions
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Specialized body of knowledge and skills
Unique socialization
Licensure/certification
Professional associations
Governance by peers
Social prestige
Vital service to society
Code of ethics
Autonomy
Equivalence of members, and
Special relationship with clients.

15. Suchman’s Model of the Stages of
Illness Experiences
1. Symptom Experience
2. Assumption of the Sick role
3. Medical Care Contact
4. Dependent patient
5. Recovery or rehabilitation