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Professional autonomy and the opthalmic optician
Author(s) -
Larkin G. V.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
sociology of health and illness
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 97
eISSN - 1467-9566
pISSN - 0141-9889
DOI - 10.1111/1467-9566.ep11343591
Subject(s) - subordination (linguistics) , autonomy , dominance (genetics) , sociology , medicine , political science , law , linguistics , philosophy , biochemistry , chemistry , gene
The growth of the medical division of labour has been associated with a decline in the ability of the medical profession to determine the work content of para‐medical occupations. The professional emergence of opthalmic opticians is discussed in this paper, and the broad thesis of a historical decline in medical dominance rejected. The pre and post NHS boundary disputes between doctors and opticians are reviewed in terms of a continuing logic of subordination. A shift in the forms of subordination is identified, prior to a concluding discussion of future change.