Alternative paths of professionalism at the margins of the healthcare system: The case of spiritual caregivers in Israel

Abstract

Much of the research on professions in the field of healthcare focuses on standard bodies of knowledge, jurisdictional claims, state regulations, and professional closure, which are characteristics of professions like medicine. However, new notions such as client-based professionalization, professional fluidity, and connective professionalism have recently emerged in the sociology of professions literature. This article suggests a new perspective on alternative paths of professionalism at the margins of the healthcare system, drawing on the case of spiritual caregivers. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 15 Israeli spiritual caregivers. The interviewees presented themselves as professionals by describing characteristics resembling the new notions of professionalism: the centrality of the patient, the fluid nature of the practice of spiritual care, and their connectivity with other healthcare practitioners. New notions in the sociological study of professions can help us understand alternative paths of professionalism at the margins of the healthcare system and to characterize the practitioners in these margins. This could contribute to a better understanding of the new sources of gaining legitimacy in the healthcare system to the benefit of patients, medical practitioners, other staff members, and medical institutions at large.