Overspecialization
{{Short description|When a person works in an excessively narrow occupation}}
Overspecialization is when a person works in an excessively narrow occupation or scientific field.{{cite web |title=Definition of OVERSPECIALIZE |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/overspecialize |website=Merriam-Webster |access-date=28 May 2020 |language=en}}
Effects
=In work=
In the workplace, specialization of labor is used to divide up the workload in a manner that improves efficiency. However, holders of overspecialized positions tend to perform repetitive jobs, leading to boredom, dissatisfaction, and lower-quality output.{{cite journal |last1=Adeyoyin |first1=Samuel Olu |last2=Agbeze-Unazi |first2=Florence |last3=Oyewunmi |first3=Olatundun |last4=Adegun |first4=Adewale |last5=Ayodele |first5=Rafiu |title=Effects of Job Specialization and Departmentalization on Job Satisfaction among the Staff of a Nigerian University Library |journal=Library Philosophy and Practice (E-journal) |date=1 January 2015 |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/1295 |access-date=2 June 2020}}
==In medicine==
The breadth of medical knowledge has expanded vastly since the 1980s.{{cite journal |last1=Papaioakeim |first1=Miltiadis |last2=Kaldoudi |first2=Eleni |last3=Vargemezis |first3=Vasilios |last4=Simopolous |first4=K |title=Confronting the Problem of Ever Expanding Core Knowledge and the Necessity of Handling Over-Specialized Disciplines in Medical Education |date=November 2006 |journal=Proceedings of ITAB |pages=25–27 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/229043525 |access-date=2 June 2020}} It has been argued that specialization is necessary in medicine to divide up the vast knowledge needed to tackle certain classes of diseases, such as cancer.{{cite book |author1=Donald W. Seldin |title=Biomedical Scientists and Public Policy |date=1978 |publisher=Springer US |isbn=978-1-4613-2886-5 |chapter=Specialization as Scientific Advancement and Overspecialization as Social Distortion}} However, specializing too narrowly leads to poor training; unnecessary health care; low-quality care, especially in regions with poor medical infrastructure;{{cite journal |last1=Villet |first1=R. |title=Overspecialization in surgery |journal={{lang|fr|Mémoires de l'Académie de Chirurgie}} |date=1991 |volume=117 |issue=3 |pages=212–3 |pmid=1797472 |url=https://europepmc.org/article/med/1797472 |access-date=2 June 2020 |language=fr}}{{better source|date=June 2020}} and knowledge that can rapidly become outdated. Overspecialization detracts from physicians' ability to identify and treat problems in patients. One proposed solution is to use databases that streamline the obtaining of necessary information and knowledge, while teaching medicine to a depth that the human mind can handle.
=In academia=
Modern universities offer a large number of academic majors where students can pursue research. However, overspecialization is considered to be a serious problem in research because it prevents academics from assessing the relationship between different fields in order to solve certain problems.{{cite web |title=The dangers of overspecialization in academia |url=https://bigthink.com/technology-innovation/overspecialization--academic |website=Big Think |access-date=28 May 2020 |language=en |date=19 September 2018}}
The Ph.D system has been criticized for encouraging overspecialization, which can leave students ill-prepared for corporate jobs.{{cite web|url=http://units.aps.org/units/fiap/newsletters/nov95/03.cfm |title=Rethinking the Ph.D. |access-date=1 June 2020 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421004607/http://units.aps.org/units/fiap/newsletters/nov95/03.cfm |archive-date=21 April 2008 }} John A. Armstrong, "Rethinking the PhD", originally appeared in Issues in Science and Technology.