Testing the feasibility of Friedson's professionalization model: The case of dietetics in the domain of nutrition (Elliot Friedson)

Professionalization is an organizing principle in the labor market and is dominant in the health care industry. Professionalism can be understood as a labor market ideology that differs from the free market model or the bureaucratic model. Friedson's ideal type model of professionalization, which includes the concepts of control, organization, trust and central life interest, was used to develop a research instrument to assess a professionalization project. The occupation of dietetics, defined by membership in the American Dietetic Association (ADA), was used for the case study. The research instrument consisted of seventeen hypotheses which guided a multi-component data gathering approach including a mailed questionnaire survey of a sample of ADA members, focus groups conducted in different parts of the United States and including both urban and rural areas, review of secondary data, and interviews with key informants comprising, both dietetics practitioners and university faculty involved in dietetics education. Primary conclusions related to the effectiveness of the instrument and data gathering approach for applying Friedson's model.; The seventeen hypotheses were sufficient to guide a comprehensive assessment of the state of professionalization of an occupation and, for dietetics, to identify criteria which can improve the professionalization profile. The survey respondents were not representative of the ADA membership on age and subspecialty, compromising inferences regarding the occupation of dietetics. Nevertheless, survey results clearly indicated that the questionnaire method was useful, but not sufficient, for measuring the multiple dimensions of professionalization. Focus groups, secondary data sources, and key informants provided essential and complementary data. In particular, several questionnaire items need refinement to increase sensitivity to gender issues within a given occupation and in the labor market in general. Implications for future research should focus on central life interest in light of the pervasive gender stratification outside the labor market, on the impact of domain delineation and on explicating the role of higher educators as “guardians of professions”. It is critical to focus on the multidimensionality of professionalization. This instrument and multi-component data gathering are readily adaptable by professional organizations which want to assess their project.