Premium
“Scissors, Please”: The Practical Accomplishment of Surgical Work in the Operating Theater
Author(s) -
Bezemer Jeff,
Murtagh Ged,
Cope Alexandra,
Kress Gunther,
Kneebone Roger
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
symbolic interaction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.874
H-Index - 47
eISSN - 1533-8665
pISSN - 0195-6086
DOI - 10.1525/si.2011.34.3.398
Subject(s) - ethnomethodology , symbolic interactionism , conversation analysis , conversation , focus (optics) , work (physics) , clips , psychology , computer science , sociology , social psychology , communication , engineering , social science , artificial intelligence , mechanical engineering , physics , optics
The focus of this article is on professional activity in the operating theater. We explore how surgeons and nurses organize their activities, how social interaction is used to help structure and define situations, and how differentials in knowledge are constructed and oriented to. We utilize some ideas and concepts from symbolic interactionism, ethnomethodology, and conversation analysis to analyze small clips of audio‐ and video‐recorded interaction. Focusing on how surgeons and nurses request, provide, and apply surgical instruments, the analysis shows how surgical work is accomplished through talk and bodily conduct. We conclude that, examined in detail, the social interaction between surgeons and nurses is analytically inseparable from the “technical” demands of their work.