Professionalism is one of the basic concepts that define a specialist’s ability and effectiveness during work in an organization or field. In the modern days, people see professionalism as a more important notion than ever before. This change of perspective has happened due to the technological progress and the increase of difficulty of the tasks professional individuals have to perform. Thus, the demand for highly qualified work force has dramatically increased. In the meantime, professionalism is more than the set of certain abilities and professional skills. This notion also implies the accountability for results of one’s work in both material and ethical terms.
In fact, it is important to view the notion of professionalism considering its two domains. They are the domain of professional abilities and skills and the domain of professional morals. There can be no doubt that professionalism implies the set of professional qualities and skills acquired by the professional during his or her development. The more experience and proficiency an individual has in a certain field, the more professional he/she is considered. For example, if one works in pharmaceutical industry or healthcare, it is important for this individual to possess broad knowledge of medicine, biology, chemistry, and other related sciences. This individual also needs to have professional skills to work in pharmacology and healthcare and to be considered a highly qualified expert.
The other important domain of professionalism is the existence of professional ethics. This notion implies the set of ethical and moral principles. Every professional has to follow this set of rules and observe them at work to be a real professional specialist. This domain is especially significant in the fields of pharmacology and healthcare since in these fields ethics cannot be separated from the work of healthcare specialists.
To sum up the above-mentioned aspects of professionalism, becomes obvious that the notion of professionalism implies two fundamental sets. On the one hand, it is the set of professional abilities and skills, while on the other hand, it is the specialist’s professional moral principles. Both sets are essential for the person to be considered truly professional.
