ABSTRACT
This chapter explains relationships between a number of occupations seeking to establish mutual recognition as professions and to extract due respect from their equals and due deference from their subordinates. Health visiting is a particularly useful occupation to study in this respect since it occupies one of those marginal positions that throw particular light on the normal state of affairs. The issue of distinctions between nursing and health visiting arises most critically in the first few weeks of the training course. Both common sense and sociological theorizing about our society tend to regard doctors as constituting the archetype of a profession. The importance of a detailed knowledge of health service organization can also be seen in considering health visitors relationships with practice and clinic ancillary workers. The chapter describes an interactionally based approach to interprofessional relationships. It argues that securing social recognition as a profession involves asserting claims to a certain relationship with other occupations.
