Revealing the hidden vulnerabilities of psychiatrists: Insights from the Romanian health system. A sociological and empirical study

It is well known that the medical and sociological literature abounds in materials that present a whole series of categories of patients as being part of vulnerable population categories. Medical professionals, and doctors, in particular, are seen as parts of the therapeutic relationship holding power, also leading to an image of a ‘privileged’ social group. Although this idea is a predominant one within classical sociological theories, but also within the traditional image of the doctor, if we look in a certain context, such as the functional one of the Romanian health system, we can reveal another social image of today’s psychiatrist. The present work wants to outline such a picture, starting from theoretical landmarks of medical sociology and observing a whole series of social realities identified through empirical research based on ethnographic evidence, but also on analyses of publicly available secondary data. The conceptualization of the vulnerability of psychiatrists will be highlighted within the complex interactions within the health system, which is in a problematic relationship with the entire social system. Finally, we want to undertake exploratory research on the specific vulnerabilities of psychiatrists (some vulnerabilities characterizing the entire professional body of doctors): complex clinical tasks, limited collaboration with other categories of doctors, limitation of resources specific to the profession (paraclinical and laboratory examinations), rigid control, extensive and overlapping of different control bodies, geographical isolation from other medical institutions and the emotional impact in the face of patients’ suffering. The vulnerability of doctors overlaps, but also inverts, that of patients, accentuating a whole series of already existing problems. Defining the group of psychiatrists as a vulnerable social group generates the need to identify answers for a problem that we consider fundamental: difficulties arising in the complex of mental health care can lead to a real social problem.