The evolution of professional identity: the case of osteopathic medicine

The osteopathic medical profession was founded in the late 19th century and has become an accepted part of the medical establishment in the United States. Throughout its history, the osteopathic medical profession has attempted to define itself in a way that differentiates osteopathy from other alternative therapies and situates the profession as responsive to the changing health care needs of the American public. This article examines identity within the osteopathic profession by examining the ways in which the profession has created, maintained, and changed its identity in its over century-long existence. The case analysis presented here involves the examination of identity statements culled from several osteopathic data sources. The identity statements represent four specific time periods within the osteopathic profession: the founding statements of A. T. Still, statements from 1915 through 1935 when the scope of osteopathic identity was expanding, statements from 1954 through 1974 in which the osteopathic profession dealt with internal and external threats in developing a “separate but equal” identity, and recent statements from a osteopathic student web site that illustrate current and future views of osteopathic identity. The results of this case analysis highlight the role of the social environment in establishing and changing professional identity, the importance of an occupational founder in shaping the articulation of identity, and the tension between identity and practice within the osteopathic medical profession.