Paper Topic:

Is social work a profession?by: Abraham Flexner

Who was Abraham Flexner and why did he give his speech

In 1915 , Abraham Flexner was the most influential individual seeking to reform medical education in the U .S (Austin ,

. 361 . He had extensively studied medical education in the U .S , Canada , and Europe for the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching (Austin ,

br 361 , and his suggestions for the reform of medical education that grew out of this study reflect his desire to establish medicine as a true profession : combining knowledge with clinical skill and with accountability for the

quality of individual performance (Austin ,

br 362 . For these reasons , he was invited by the program committee of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections to speak at the conference (Austin ,

. 361

According to Flexner , what are the criteria of a profession

Flexner discusses six identifying characteristics of a profession First , the activities involved in a profession are essentially intellectual in character ' and practitioners of a profession hold a large degree of personal responsibility (p . 154 . Second , a profession has a learned character (p . 155 , by which he means that new information needs to be continuously sought out . Third , professionals must put their knowledge and learning to use (p . 155 . Fourth , the techniques of a profession can be taught , and training can be codified (p . 155 . Fifth , a person 's qualifications are determined by that person 's ability to fulfill the requirements of the profession . As these requirements can be taught , a profession is a democratic (and...

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