An empirical and philosophical exploration of clinical practice

Previous empirical work among physicians has led us to propose that clinical practice is experienced by clinicians as an engagement-in-the-clinical-situation. In this study, we pursue our exploration of clinical practice 'on its own terms' by turning to the experience of patients. Phenomen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Philosophy, ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM ethics, and humanities in medicine : PEHM, 2019-02, Vol.14 (1), p.3-3, Article 3
Main Authors: Saraga, Michael, Boudreau, Donald, Fuks, Abraham
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
Anthropology
Clinical medicine
Clinical practice, Patient experience
Ethics
Female
Hermeneutic phenomenology
Humanism
Humans
Illnesses
Interviews as Topic
Male
Medical practice
Medicine
Middle Aged
Patients
Phenomenology
Philosophy
Philosophy, Medical
Physicians
Practice Patterns, Physicians
Qualitative Research
Science
Shock
Studies
Young Adult
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Summary:Previous empirical work among physicians has led us to propose that clinical practice is experienced by clinicians as an engagement-in-the-clinical-situation. In this study, we pursue our exploration of clinical practice 'on its own terms' by turning to the experience of patients. Phenomenological analysis of in-depth individual interviews with 8 patients. We describe the patient experience as a set of three motifs: the shock on the realization of the illness, the chaos of the health care environment, and the anchor point provided by an engaged physician. We draw on Heidegger's notion of solicitude to show that patients are actively ascertaining the physician's engagement in their care. These findings lead us to question the classical "dual discourse" of medicine that offers a dichotomous account of clinical practice as the addition of care to cure, art to science, humanism to technique, and person to medical case. We found no such distinctions in our empirical investigation of clinical practice. Rather, in our synthesis, practice appears as a unitary experience. The physician's solicitude for the patient entrains engagement in the clinical situation. Moreover, the solicitous, engaged physician constitutes an anchor point for the patient.
ISSN:1747-5341
1747-5341
DOI:10.1186/s13010-019-0072-9