Vulnerability to Knowledge Obsolescence Among Professionals.

A central, element of modem professions is that they are organized around specialized bodies of knowledge over which they claim exclusive jurisdiction and control (Barber, 1963). Such specialized expertise is basic to the performance of the professional role, and the application of this specialized knowledge to client problems is the essence of professionalism for occupations such as medicine, dentistry, nursing, law, or engineering (Hughes, 1963; Gross, 1958:78-82). As Greenwood (1957) suggests, two other attributes of the professions— authority and autonomy—are based upon this expertise. The authority to advise, prescribe, direct, or limit client activity is grounded in professional access to superior knowledge of "causes" and "solutions" to the clients' problems. Likewise, freedom from lay control and evaluation of professional performance derives from the discrepancy between the expertise of the professional and the ignorance of the client. Only other qualified (i.e., knowledgeable in the same specialized area) personnel can evaluate the professional practitioner (Hall, 1969). In addition, professions also exhibit other characteristics which are not so intimately linked to expertise. These are such elements as codes of ethics, professional cultures or communities, and commitment (see Hall, 1969; Goode, 1957). The focus of this paper is, however, on the relevance of professional expertise. Expertise is inextricably involved with both the performance of the professional role, and the maintenance of professional status and legitimacy. Any increase in client access to the professional sphere of competence is therefore likely to result in skepticism, criticism, and may even threaten to reduce the professional to commercial status (Wilensky, 1964:150). The "mystification" of professional knowledge in the form of esoteric jargon, limitations on popularization of knowledge, and prohibitions against advertising may be seen as attempts to maintain the knowledge gap between professional and client. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]