Which group of theorists is identified as having attempted to identify traits that define a profession?

• A. Abraham Flexner
• B. Elizabeth Bixler
• C. Eliza Pavalko
• D. Abraham Flexner, Elizabeth Bixler, Eliza Pavalko

Answer: (D)

The idea behind defining a profession centers on delineating the attributes that separate professional work from other occupations, such as a formal specialized body of knowledge, extensive training and credentialing, autonomy in practice, ethical codes, and service-oriented goals. Abraham Flexner is known for demonstrating how a rigorous, university-based, scientific approach to education helped establish medicine as a profession and set standards for credentialing and training. Elizabeth Bixler and Eliza Pavalko contributed a sociological perspective, examining how professions gain status and control over work through organized training, licensing, ethical norms, and boundary-setting to distinguish professional labor from other kinds of work. Because these three scholars collectively explored and articulated the traits and processes that define a profession, this grouping is identified as the one that attempted to specify what makes a profession.