Is Health Care a Profession?

Maybe it was once. Under the socialized systems, like the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, it is just another blue-collar job. Granted, it requires more training than most, but that doesn't alter the qualitative aspects of working for a large bureaucracy. NHS strikes 'will only end if ministers offer workers a 10 PER CENT pay rise' | Daily Mail Online

There is much that is wrong with the NHS, and some of it is called out in the article. Nurses apparently haven't had a raise since 2010. Inflation has been low during most of that time, but it hasn't been zero. It certainly is not zero today.

Ambulance workers are going on strike for wages. Nurses also plan more strikes/slow downs. Ambulance drivers are underpaid in the US as well, and it contributes to staffing shortages, and long waits when you need assistance.

We have some of these problems because of how much the .gov pays (or in a lot of cases, doesn't pay) for health care. Ambulance drivers, EMTs, and the like are paid by the .gov, or by insurance company reimbursements. In both cases the payments are divorced from reality. Pay is low, even though the stress is high. Can you guess the effect that has on staffing?

But the bit that caught my attention in relation to the NHS is this:

It comes as teachers, civil servants, train drivers and nurses plan more action

Or in more detail...

[Matthew Taylor, NHS Confederation Chief Executive] added: 'I think there's a sense in Government that if they were to, to give way to compromise in health, then it would have knock-on effects on other public sector industrial disputes.'

So is nursing a profession, or is it little different from train drivers and other "public sector industrial" jobs?

I can't wait until we have socialized medicine.