School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.
School of Clinical Sciences, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
J Foot Ankle Res. 2024 Dec;17(4):e70007. doi: 10.1002/jfa2.70007.
In October 2023, the Podiatry Board of Australia commissioned an independent review of the regulation of podiatric surgery in Australia, with a remit to re-evaluate the regulatory framework, identify any risks to patient safety and recommend improvements to public protection. It reported in March 2024 and set out 14 key recommendations. The review was prompted by a number of complaints about podiatric surgeons but also reflected calls for reform by the medical profession and several critical media reports. This paper sets out to examine the review report, alongside the concerns of the medical profession and the media articles expressed within it, through the lens of an established sociological framework focused on interprofessional conflict and the contested use of professional titles.
As a review rather than the research paper, the Independent Review of Podiatric Surgery (the 'Paterson Report') served as data for the sociological analysis, adopting a Neo-Weberian and Bordieuan framework to examine the strategies adopted by the medical profession and media reports cited in the report, consistent with the exercise of professional power.
The sociological analysis provides insights into the ways in which professions seek to maintain symbolic, social, cultural and economic privileges and rewards through the exclusion of competitors, using strategies such as social closure, symbolic violence, symbolic devaluation, gatekeeper roles, and jurisdictional disputes.
The review report acknowledges the influence of the medical profession and its opposition to the practice of podiatric surgery and use of the title 'podiatric surgeon'. The arguments made and strategies deployed are consistent with those found in the wider literature. In light of these findings, the implications for the future of podiatric surgery are considered in terms of professional practice, use of professional title, and access to public funding.
2023 年 10 月，澳大利亚足病委员会委托进行了一项独立审查，以重新评估澳大利亚足病手术的监管框架，识别任何患者安全风险，并提出改善公众保护的建议。该审查于 2024 年 3 月发布，提出了 14 项关键建议。审查是由对足病外科医生的一些投诉引发的，但也反映了医学界的改革呼吁和一些关键媒体报道。本文旨在通过关注职业冲突和职业头衔有争议使用的既定社会学框架，审查审查报告以及医学专业人士和媒体文章所表达的担忧。
作为一项审查，而不是研究论文，《独立审查足病手术》（“帕特森报告”）是社会学分析的数据来源，采用新韦伯主义和博迪厄框架来审查报告中引用的医学专业和媒体文章所采用的策略，以符合专业权力的行使。
社会学分析提供了深入了解专业人士通过排斥竞争对手来维护象征、社会、文化和经济特权和回报的方式，例如社会封闭、象征性暴力、象征性贬值、把关人角色和管辖权争议。
审查报告承认医学专业及其对足病手术实践和使用“足病外科医生”头衔的反对的影响。提出的论点和部署的策略与更广泛的文献中的论点和策略一致。鉴于这些发现，考虑了未来足病手术在专业实践、使用专业头衔和获得公共资金方面的影响。
