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Categories by Heart: Shortcut Reasoning in a Cardiology Clinic

Jacobsson, Katarina LU (2014) In Professions and Professionalism 4(3). p.1-15
Abstract
This article examines the practice of doctors and nurses to invoke the categories of age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle factors when discussing individual patients and patient groups. In what situations are such references explicitly made, and what does this practice accomplish? The material consists of field notes from a cardiology clinic in Sweden, and a theory of descriptive practice guided the analysis. When professionals describe patients, discuss decisions, or explain why a patient is ill, age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle serve as contextualization cues, often including widespread results from epidemiological research about groups of patients at higher or lower risk for cardiac disease. These categories work as... (More)
This article examines the practice of doctors and nurses to invoke the categories of age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle factors when discussing individual patients and patient groups. In what situations are such references explicitly made, and what does this practice accomplish? The material consists of field notes from a cardiology clinic in Sweden, and a theory of descriptive practice guided the analysis. When professionals describe patients, discuss decisions, or explain why a patient is ill, age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle serve as contextualization cues, often including widespread results from epidemiological research about groups of patients at higher or lower risk for cardiac disease. These categories work as shortcut reasoning to nudge interpretations in a certain direction, legitimize decisions, and strengthen arguments. In general, studying the descriptions of patients/clients/students provides an entrance to professional methods of reasoning, including their implicit moral assumptions. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
medical professionals, nurses, doctors, categories, patient-description, decision making, lay epidemiology, descriptive practice
in
Professions and Professionalism
volume
4
issue
3
pages
1 - 15
publisher
Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus
ISSN
1893-1049
DOI
10.7577/pp.763
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
0693186e-0a1c-4bfc-80f1-b9e38c6a0d77 (old id 5159660)
alternative location
https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/pp/article/view/763
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 13:20:19
date last changed
2018-11-21 20:15:06
@article{0693186e-0a1c-4bfc-80f1-b9e38c6a0d77,
  abstract     = {{This article examines the practice of doctors and nurses to invoke the categories of age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle factors when discussing individual patients and patient groups. In what situations are such references explicitly made, and what does this practice accomplish? The material consists of field notes from a cardiology clinic in Sweden, and a theory of descriptive practice guided the analysis. When professionals describe patients, discuss decisions, or explain why a patient is ill, age, sex, class, ethnicity, and/or lifestyle serve as contextualization cues, often including widespread results from epidemiological research about groups of patients at higher or lower risk for cardiac disease. These categories work as shortcut reasoning to nudge interpretations in a certain direction, legitimize decisions, and strengthen arguments. In general, studying the descriptions of patients/clients/students provides an entrance to professional methods of reasoning, including their implicit moral assumptions.}},
  author       = {{Jacobsson, Katarina}},
  issn         = {{1893-1049}},
  keywords     = {{medical professionals; nurses; doctors; categories; patient-description; decision making; lay epidemiology; descriptive practice}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{3}},
  pages        = {{1--15}},
  publisher    = {{Høgskolen i Oslo og Akershus}},
  series       = {{Professions and Professionalism}},
  title        = {{Categories by Heart: Shortcut Reasoning in a Cardiology Clinic}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3311663/5218724.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.7577/pp.763}},
  volume       = {{4}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}