Field notes in the clinic: on medicine, anthropology and pedagogy in South Africa

TY - JOUR

T1 - Field notes in the clinic

T2 - on medicine, anthropology and pedagogy in South Africa

AU - Pentecost, Michelle

PY - 2018/11/27

Y1 - 2018/11/27

N2 - This commentary is about medicine, anthropology and pedagogy: about the ways of knowing that different disciplinary orientations permit. I draw on a field note taken in the clinic to illustrate how cultures of healthcare and health sciences training in South Africa bracket the historical, social and political contexts of health and illness in this setting, at the expense of patient care and physician wellbeing. I consider what anthropological inquiry can offer to clinical practice, and advocate for critical orientations to clinical work and teaching that extend humanity to patients and providers.

AB - This commentary is about medicine, anthropology and pedagogy: about the ways of knowing that different disciplinary orientations permit. I draw on a field note taken in the clinic to illustrate how cultures of healthcare and health sciences training in South Africa bracket the historical, social and political contexts of health and illness in this setting, at the expense of patient care and physician wellbeing. I consider what anthropological inquiry can offer to clinical practice, and advocate for critical orientations to clinical work and teaching that extend humanity to patients and providers.

UR - https://mh.bmj.com/content/44/4/e1

U2 - 10.1136/medhum-2018-011473

DO - 10.1136/medhum-2018-011473

M3 - Article

SN - 1468-215X

JO - Medical Humanities

JF - Medical Humanities

ER -