Professional Meaning (What is it, Concept and Definition)

What is Professional:

Professional is the person who exercises a profession, that is, the person who works in a specific and specialized work area , whose knowledge has been acquired by means of university instruction.It is also used as a qualifying adjective to express that something belongs to the profession.

This word is made up of several Latin words: pro , which means' forward or at sight ', fateri , which means' confess' and sio , which means' action and effect'.

As an example of professionals we can mention : doctors, social communicators, anthropologists, sociologists, chemists, physicists, mathematicians, engineers, architects, lawyers, etc.

To be formally called professionals and to be able to exercise legally, these people must have received a minimum university degree of third level (undergraduate and related) and, in most cases, be enrolled in the Professional College (Coleg io de Medicos, Colegio de Ingenieros, etc.).

Professional as a quality

Over the years, the word professional has acquired a connotation This means that not only does he designate the one who exercises a certain work specialty, but he can refer to the qualities that make him stand out in the fulfillment of his work.

An example of this is: "The Dr.Ruiz is a professional ".In the context of this sentence, the title of doctor shows that the person referred to is a certified professional.But the expression" is a professional "wants to emphasize the values ​​of his work: professional ethics.

In this sense, in certain areas of knowledge it is possible that some people not trained in the university are considered professionals, since they exercise the positive values ​​associated with the exercise of a certain trade: excellent mastery of the necessary knowledge (self-taught), responsibility, p Untuality and ethics.

This use of the professional term is very common in the artistic field.It happens frequently in the artistic world that artists (musicians, painters, actors, dancers) have not taken university studies, but they they have trained in the exercise of the trade, reaching such a level of excellence and recognition that they enjoy the prestige of "professionals." It can be said in this case that they make profession of the trade.

See also Occupation.

Professional ethics

Professional ethics refers to the set of values ​​associated with professional practice, especially important in those professions that serve the human being or impact on it.

Within the values ​​of professional ethics, the following are recognized: exercise of conscience, responsibility, punctuality, professional secrecy, discipline, perseverance, etc.It is assumed that a professional must implement all these qualities.

Eventually, a professional may face a conflict between professional ethics and personal ethics.

Professional secrecy

In some professions, there is a legal obligation to keep secret about information revealed in the exercise of work by of clients, beneficiaries, patients or informants.This obligation is part of professional ethics.

These professions include medicine, psychology, psychiatry, law or advocacy, nursing, work social and journalism.

For example, a journalist cannot ever reveal the source of the information without his consent.Doctors, nurses and psychologists cannot also disclose the health problems of a particular patient.