From the “physiotherapist practice” to physiotherapy as a profession: The Brazilian case

Physiotherapy is a profession recognized in Brazil since 1969 and set in its origins an interesting case study - the transformation of an occupation into a profession. According to a socio-historical approach, associated with the concepts of expertise and credentialism (Freidson, 1996, 2009) and interactional expertise (Collins and Evans, 2006), it is possible to investigate in what extent the occupation of physiotherapist was accredited  by the State to become a work activity, since 1938. The rough data will come from Registration Books of the Professional Practice Supervision (1930-1940) that contains information such as: name, date and place of birth, parentage, occupation and current legislation. The data shows the existence of a group of workers, which characterize a pre-institutionalization of a future profession. During this period, the “physioterapist practice” (hydrotherapy, therapeutic exercise, electrotherapy, thermotherapy, phototherapy and massage) was widely used. The physiotherapists that were associated with medicine and nursing profession, develop a certain expertise prior to the formal structure of education that would occur only from 1951. In this sense, the interaction between physiotherapists, doctors and nurses was the main way of exchange for the acquisition of tacit physiotherapist knowledge's. The “physiotherapist practices” were shaped in a kind of interactional expertise, being an existing practice before starting the process of professionalization of this occupation.