
American Pediatrics
The Social Dynamics of Professionalism, 1880-1980
Sydney A. Halpern(Author)
University of California Press
Published on 8. September 1988
Book
Hardback
256 pages
978-0-520-05195-9 (ISBN)
Description
Today's parents routinely consult pediatricians for care of sick youngsters, information on child development, and advice on problems of child management. Yet only a hundred years ago, special medical services for children barely existed. During the intervening century, physicians defined a new field and built occupational structures that established pediatrics as a permanent division of medical practice. Professor Halpern traces the development of American pediatrics over the last century and identifies social processes underlying its evolution.
How did the pediatric specialty arise? Through what processes did it emerge? What forces shaped its changing scope and organization? In addressing these questions, the author draws on a rich combination of primary and secondary historical sources, unpublished documents, and interview data. She shows how successive generations of specialists redefined pediatrics and created a series of occupational institutions, including professional societies, academic divisions, training programs, and certifying boards.
American Pediatrics offers an original approach to the study of medical specialties and professions and contributes a new perspective on professionalism. Showing specialties to be both products and agents of societal change, the book highlights multiple and interrelated forces contributing to the rise of new professions and documents the influence of surrounding occupations on the shape specialties assume. Halpern enriches our understanding of American medicine and clarifies the origins of expert services for children and families.
How did the pediatric specialty arise? Through what processes did it emerge? What forces shaped its changing scope and organization? In addressing these questions, the author draws on a rich combination of primary and secondary historical sources, unpublished documents, and interview data. She shows how successive generations of specialists redefined pediatrics and created a series of occupational institutions, including professional societies, academic divisions, training programs, and certifying boards.
American Pediatrics offers an original approach to the study of medical specialties and professions and contributes a new perspective on professionalism. Showing specialties to be both products and agents of societal change, the book highlights multiple and interrelated forces contributing to the rise of new professions and documents the influence of surrounding occupations on the shape specialties assume. Halpern enriches our understanding of American medicine and clarifies the origins of expert services for children and families.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Berkerley
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Cloth over boards
Weight
635 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-520-05195-9 (9780520051959)
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Schweitzer Classification
Person
Sydney A. Halpern is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Illinois, Chicago.