Editing Profession (section)

==Characteristics==
There is considerable agreement about defining the characteristic features of a profession. They have a "professional association, cognitive base, institutionalized training, licensing, [[work autonomy]], colleague control... (and) code of ethics",<ref>Magali Sarfatti Larson, ''The Rise of Professionalism: a Sociological Analysis,'' Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1978, p.&nbsp;208</ref> to which Larson then also adds, "high standards of professional and intellectual excellence," (Larson, p.&nbsp;221) that "professions are occupations with special power and prestige", (Larson, p.x) and that they comprise "an exclusive [[elite]] group," (Larson, p.&nbsp;20) in all societies. Members of a profession have also been defined as "workers whose qualities of detachment, autonomy, and group allegiance are more extensive than those found among other groups...their attributes include a high degree of systematic knowledge; strong community orientation and [[loyalty]]; self-regulation; and a system of rewards defined and administered by the community of workers."<ref>Joanne Brown, ''The Definition of a Profession: the Authority of Metaphor in the History of Intelligence Testing, 1890-1930'', Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1992, p.&nbsp;19</ref>

A profession has been further defined as: "a special type of occupation...(possessing) corporate solidarity...prolonged specialized training in a body of abstract knowledge, and a collectivity or service orientation...a vocational sub-culture which comprises implicit codes of behavior, generates an [[esprit de corps]] among members of the same profession, and ensures them certain occupational advantages...(also) bureaucratic structures and monopolistic privileges to perform certain types of work...professional literature, legislation, etc."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Turner |first1=C. |last2=Hodge |first2=M. N. |chapter=Occupations and Professions |pages=[https://archive.org/details/professionsprofe0000jack/page/19 19–50] |chapter-url={{Google books|7ydCAAAAIAAJ|page=19|plainurl=yes}} |editor1-first=J. A. |editor1-last=Jackson |year=1970 |title=Professions and Professionalization |series=Sociological Studies |isbn=978-0-521-07982-2 |url=https://archive.org/details/professionsprofe0000jack/page/19 }}</ref>

A critical characteristic of a profession is the need to cultivate and exercise professional ''discretion'' - that is, the ability to make case by case ''judgements'' that cannot be determined by an absolute rule or instruction.<ref name=pmid12004638>{{cite journal |doi=10.1002/chp.1340220102 |pmid=12004638 |title=Developing professional judgment |journal=Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=3–10 |year=2002 |last1=Coles |first1=Colin }}</ref>