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      Slovenian midwifery professionalization: Perception of midwives and related health professions

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          Abstract

          INTRODUCTION

          This article presents research into the professionalization of midwifery in Slovenia. Since recognition by related occupations is important for professions, this comparative study asked doctors and nurses in Slovenia about their perceptions of the status of midwifery.

          METHODS

          A questionnaire survey was conducted with 300 Slovenian midwives, 666 nurses and 416 obstetricians. The questionnaire included statements covering traditional sociological notions of the profession (ethics, theory, power), and three notions based on new elements of professionalism (reflective practice, interdisciplinary working, and partnership with clients).

          RESULTS

          Findings suggest that nurses perceived themselves to be less autonomous than midwives, and this partly explains why most nurses thought that midwifery should be a specialized course of study, after the general nursing diploma. Obstetricians claimed to support midwives, however, they did not give midwives credit for basic midwifery competencies and did not feel midwifery to be equal to their profession. Midwives revealed not to feel autonomous; they felt that nursing and obstetrics is jeopardizing independent midwifery practice.

          CONCLUSIONS

          Slovenian midwifery was poorly evaluated in some attributes of professionalism, especially knowledge and autonomy. Even midwives themselves consider midwifery more occupation than profession. The autonomy of midwifery will be hard to achieve in the institutions of medical dominance. The study revealed that participants of all three groups are in a competitive relation and are poorly aware of the roles and competencies of the other two professions. Therefore, partially joined education might be beneficial in order to promote interprofessional collaboration in the future.

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          Most cited references46

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          Professionalism, the Third Logic

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            Sociological interpretations of professionalism.

            Professionalism is a hot topic in medical education, yet there is debate about what professionalism actually is. The reason is that medical educators primarily frame professionalism as a list of characteristics or behaviours. However, many sociologists of the professions favour more explanatory theories that incorporate political, economic and social dimensions into understanding of the nature and function of professionalism. This paper reviews a range of approaches used in the sociology of the professions to support the argument that medical education needs to reframe its priorities for research into, and the development of, professionalism in medical education. The literature on the sociology of the professions was reviewed and summarised in relation to medical education. A focus on individual characteristics and behaviours alone is insufficient as a basis on which to build further understanding of professionalism and represents a shaky foundation for the development of educational programmes and tools. Contemporary sociological literature on professionalism should have greater prominence in this domain.
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              The world health report:2006:Working together for health

              (2006)
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                Author and article information

                Journal
                Eur J Midwifery
                Eur J Midwifery
                EJM
                European Journal of Midwifery
                European Publishing
                2585-2906
                20 July 2021
                2021
                : 5
                : 30
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Midwifery Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
                [2 ]Centre for Midwifery, Maternal and Perinatal Health, Department of Midwifery and Health Sciences, Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of Bournemouth, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
                [3 ]Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University, Bournemouth, United Kingdom
                [4 ]Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
                [5 ]Centre for Welfare Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
                Author notes
                CORRESPONDENCE TO Polona A. Mivšek. Midwifery Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ljubljana, Zdravstvena pot 5, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia. E-mail: polona.mivsek@ 123456zf.uni-lj.si ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7816-1451
                Article
                30
                10.18332/ejm/137664
                8290859
                34316548
                70ebbd81-7228-4a50-a8d7-0d725c13ea0c
                © 2021 Mivšek P. A. et al.

                This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

                History
                : 25 January 2021
                : 22 March 2021
                : 18 May 2021
                Categories
                Research Paper

                midwives,occupations,professionalism,professional boundaries,sociology of health

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