ABSTRACT
Medicine in the twentieth century is characterized by its ever-growing workforce and by an increase in the number of types of health worker. Firstly, some occupations have a pre-twentieth century history and to some degree may be seen to have ‘negotiated’ a relationship with modern medicine, within which they offer their services directly and autonomously to the public as separate practitioners in the market place. A second broad group of occupations is specifically linked to scientific diagnosis and to the hospital focus of much of modern medicine. A third group, often called ‘therapists,’ are part of the ‘therapeutic’ expansion of modern medicine but not immediately linked to any specific technology or scientific innovation. The chapter reviews the histories of these three groups using particular examples in each category. Of the workers associated with the therapeutic expansion of model medicine, physiotherapists form one of the first and most established segments.
