Becoming a doctor is a long and arduous process. It involves many years of study and more of practice. It is inconceivable that this process leaves those who go through it untouched. This process is called professional socialisation. It confers values, and behaviours on the participants, and these help to mark our profession out from […]
Tag: community of practice
Did you choose them, or did they choose you?
Medical stereotypes are a well known, ranging from the hippy-esque GP, to the man-mountain of an orthopaedic surgeon, via the suave and sophisticated plastic surgeon. I’m not entirely sure what the stereotype of a chest physician is, but I would be grateful if you could let me know… These stereotypes, and perceptions of who goes […]
Professionalism – a team game
Professionalism is one of those peristent themes that run through medical education, and through the comments that are passed whenever there are concerns about clinical performance – be that the perceived clock watching engendered by the EWTD, or the failings at Mid Staffs. Very often the term is used to highlight either a failing, or […]
Are you safely socialised?
Changes in role within the medical profession are times of great upheaval. One of the most challenging is the change from being a medical student to a fully qualified doctor. A cohort of medical students qualifies every year around June/July time, and members of this cohort take their first steps on the wards and in […]
Medicine – a team sport
Medicine could once be practised in isolation – indeed, young doctors often found themselves working alone – a situation evocatively described by Bulgakov in his ‘Country Doctor’s Notebook.’ Nowadays, it is almost impossible to work in isolation, and team working is the norm. Atul Gawande wrote about the different approaches of Cowboys and Pit […]