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Contingency in everyday surgical work

Contingency in everyday surgical work
Contingency in everyday surgical work
This paper concerns a qualitative study exploring the nature of surgical work with a group of 34 surgeons involved in treating urinary incontinence. Sources of surgical variation are identified from surgeons' own accounts of their work as well as observation of the selection of patients and operative procedures, and the operative process itself. A typology of contingency, consisting of three categories of contingency (case, surgeon and external), was found in this area of everyday surgical work. In developing this typology, theoretical and philosophical ideas about habitus and disposition, and practical and technical knowledge, are considered and extended to help to understand the nature of surgical practice. These ideas may also be useful in explaining some of the apparent tensions between evidence-based surgery and everyday surgical work.
surgical work, technical and practical knowledge, contingency, qualitative research
0141-9889
369-384
Pope, C.
21ae1290-0838-4245-adcf-6f901a0d4607
Pope, C.
21ae1290-0838-4245-adcf-6f901a0d4607

Pope, C. (2002) Contingency in everyday surgical work. Sociology of Health and Illness, 24 (4), 369-384. (doi:10.1111/1467-9566.00300).

Record type: Article

Abstract

This paper concerns a qualitative study exploring the nature of surgical work with a group of 34 surgeons involved in treating urinary incontinence. Sources of surgical variation are identified from surgeons' own accounts of their work as well as observation of the selection of patients and operative procedures, and the operative process itself. A typology of contingency, consisting of three categories of contingency (case, surgeon and external), was found in this area of everyday surgical work. In developing this typology, theoretical and philosophical ideas about habitus and disposition, and practical and technical knowledge, are considered and extended to help to understand the nature of surgical practice. These ideas may also be useful in explaining some of the apparent tensions between evidence-based surgery and everyday surgical work.

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More information

Published date: July 2002
Keywords: surgical work, technical and practical knowledge, contingency, qualitative research

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 11126
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/11126
ISSN: 0141-9889
PURE UUID: d70e0a50-c121-495e-a869-abc7b6433218
ORCID for C. Pope: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-8935-6702

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Date deposited: 27 Oct 2004
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:02

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Author: C. Pope ORCID iD

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