Brudna praca w zawodach medycznych. Konteksty interakcji pacjent–personel medyczny w procesie leczenia
Dirty Work in Medical Professions. Contexts of Interaction between Patient and Medical Staff during Therapy

Author(s): Michał Lesiak
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Sociology, Health and medicine and law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: invisible work; sanitation work; medical Staff; medical professions; dirty work; division of work; division of labor
Summary/Abstract: The publication analyzes the interaction between patients and medical staff, with particular emphasis on social, interactive, moral and physical burden associated with the work of doctors, nurses and paramedics. Using Everett Hughes’s concept of dirty work, the hardships associated with practising a medical profession have been presented. The monograph enables the reader to understand the specific work environment in specialized institutions like hospitals, nursing homes, hospices which are responsible for such aspects of life as illnesses, treatment, and passing away. The author has attempted to show the work of a medical team in an objective way. A considerable dose of attention has been drawn to the discrepancy between doctors' actual responsibilities and the way in which they tend to be perceived by patients. The image of a physician dressed in a spotless white coat, wandering around patients’ rooms is only a small fraction of the duties he or she must fulfill during a hard working day. Difficult decisions that constitute a moral burden, complicated situations during surgeries and exposure to bodily secretions (physical burdens), contact with extremely demanding patients who believe they deserve exceptional treatment (interactive burdens) or with socially marked people (social burdens) are everyday duties for a doctor working in a medical facility. The book’s audience are people interested in contemporary sociological theories and interactionist approach to work, especially doctors, medical team managers and patients who want to learn what the backstage of medical work looks like.

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