Dataset Information

Performing Surgery: Commonalities with Performers Outside Medicine.

ABSTRACT: This paper argues for the inclusion of surgery within the canon of performance science. The world of medicine presents rich, complex but relatively under-researched sites of performance. Performative aspects of clinical practice are overshadowed by a focus on the processes and outcomes of medical care, such as diagnostic accuracy and the results of treatment. The primacy of this "clinical" viewpoint-framed by clinical professionals as the application of medical knowledge-hides resonances with performance in other domains. Yet the language of performance is embedded in the culture of surgery-surgeons "perform" operations, work in an operating "theater" and use "instruments." This paper asks what might come into view if we take this performative language at face value and interrogate surgery from the perspective of performance science.

SUBMITTER: Kneebone RL

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5006638 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Performing Surgery: Commonalities with Performers Outside Medicine.

Kneebone Roger L RL

Frontiers in psychology 20160831

This paper argues for the inclusion of surgery within the canon of performance science. The world of medicine presents rich, complex but relatively under-researched sites of performance. Performative aspects of clinical practice are overshadowed by a focus on the processes and outcomes of medical care, such as diagnostic accuracy and the results of treatment. The primacy of this "clinical" viewpoint-framed by clinical professionals as the application of medical knowledge-hides resonances with pe ...[more]

PMID: 27630587

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundGlobalization has made it possible for global health professionals and trainees to participate in short-term training and professional experiences in a variety of clinical- and non-clinical activities across borders. Consequently, greater numbers of healthcare professionals and trainees from high-income countries (HICs) are working or volunteering abroad and participating in short-term experiences in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). How effective these activities are in advancing global health and in addressing the crisis of human resources for health remains controversial. What is known, however, is that during these short-term experiences in global health (STEGH), health professionals and those in training often face substantive ethical challenges. A common dilemma described is that of acting outside of one's scope of training. However, the frequency, nature, circumstances, and consequences of performing outside scope of training (POST) have not been well-explored or quantified.MethodsThe authors conducted an online survey of HIC health professionals and trainees working or volunteering in LMICs about their experiences with POST, within the last 5 years.ResultsA total of 223 survey responses were included in the final analysis. Half (49%) of respondents reported having been asked to perform outside their scope of training; of these, 61% reported POST. Trainees were nearly twice as likely as licensed professionals to report POST. Common reasons cited for POST were a mismatch of skills with host expectations, suboptimal supervision at host sites, inadequate preparation to decline POST, a perceived lack of alternative options and emergency situations. Many of the respondents who reported POST expressed moral distress that persisted over time.ConclusionsGiven that POST is ethically problematic and legally impermissible, the high rates of being asked, and deciding to do so, were notable. Based on these findings, the authors suggest that additional efforts are needed to reduce the incidence of POST during STEGH, including pre-departure training to navigate dilemmas concerning POST, clear communication regarding expectations, and greater attention to the moral distress experienced by those contending with POST.

Dataset Information

Performing Surgery: Commonalities with Performers Outside Medicine.

Publications

Performing Surgery: Commonalities with Performers Outside Medicine.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets