Marketplace, Power, Prestige

The healthcare systems of Western States are characterised by complex structures and diverse activities. The authors investigate the conflicts of various professions within the medical market from a historical perspective, thereby reaching a better understanding of contemporary questions and problems concerning the field of medical care. The focus lies on analysing the establishment of non-physician health professions in their social framework as well as their profession-specific developments. The contributions outline and explore the conflicts within one professional group as well as those between different professional groups. This volume not only examines the history of nursing, but also the history of other non-physician professions such as midwives, diabetes advisors and paramedics. The authors are particularly interested in investigating which player had interpretational sovereignty on the medical market, the social prestige of different health professions, and the profession-specific practices.