La pratique de la médecine du travail entre reconnaissance et indifférence

The practice of occupational medicine between recognition and indifference. Purpose of study : The object of the article is to demonstrate and describe the point of view of occupational physicians on the exercise of their profession. While, according to their experience, the practice of occupational medicine is recognized as important, in some areas its legitimacy seems not to be accepted. Method : The article is based on a secondary exploitation of the results of a broader investigation into the question of the participation and the health of employees, more specially on the basis of a survey (N =92) and the exploitation of interviews conducted with occupational physicians. Discussion : The results show that occupational doctors distinguish between on the one hand, the "legitimate and recognized" part of their work and on the other hand, the invisible and less recognized part of their work. It seems that the actions in the ergonomic and technical fields are seldom disputed; on the other hand, interventions or opinions given concerning the organization of work or human resources are considered non acceptable. In other words, the recognition of their expertise runs up against the definition which the employers give to their sphere of activity. Conclusion : The occupational physicians have understood for a very long time that the organization of work is not confined to its physical dimensions and that social relationships have an impact on health. The efficacy of a preventive action collides, here, with an ideological rather than medical limit of the notion of professional territory. Hence, some uneasiness among company physicians.