The pursuit of professional status by hospital directors of volunteer services

Hospital Directors of Volunteer Services in Southern California continually try to establish their status as a profession. To provide support in this effort a survey was conducted to establish if uniform variables determine salaries. The survey results indicate that characteristics of Directors of Volunteer Services in different facilities were dissimilar and that salaries were not based on common variables. A second survey was then indicated and conducted to investigate the possibility that this occupation was not a profession and that Directors of Volunteer Services were hospital managers who incidently supervise volunteer programs. A review of literature supported this suggestion as did the data collected in the second survey. The data from the two surveys, together with the material in the review of literature and additional knowledge provided by the researcher, confirmed the suggestion that Directors of Volunteer Services do not meet qualifications required to be classified as a profession. Further study is recommended to analyze this preoccupation with professionalization and to determine if this is a concern of directors throughout the country or only in this geographic area.