From Grace to Violence: Stigmatizing the Medical Profession in China

Abstract

This study examines how the once prestigious medical profession in China has become criticized to the point of inducing widespread violence by patients. Drawing on archival documents, media articles, interviews, and secondary sources, we trace the lengthy and uneven trajectory by which the profession moved from collective approval through ambivalence towards stigmatization. We develop a process model of professional stigmatization that identifies dynamics that precipitate and then catalyze that trajectory; and highlight the underpinning mechanisms. By unpacking the complex process of stigmatization, the study extends understanding of how aspects of stigma emerge, and are attached by different stakeholders to a profession, and the consequences that follow. We conclude by highlighting implications for research on stigma and the challenge of stigma containment.