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Making sure. A comparative micro-analysis of diagnostic instruments in medical practice

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  • Schubert, Cornelius

Abstract

This article conceptualises diagnosis as ongoing practical judgement in medical care. Based on pragmatist and phenomenological considerations of tools in use, it uses a comparative approach to analyse similarities and differences in the use of diagnostic technologies. In the first part of the paper, a historical perspective on the innovation of the stethoscope is used to highlight the transformations in diagnostic practices occasioned by novel diagnostic instruments. In the second part of the paper, ethnographic accounts of contemporary anaesthesia are presented in order to sketch out the manifold variations of using diagnostic instruments in daily practice. Both cases are analysed on a micro-analytical level, emphasising the interrelations of bodies, tools and knowledge in concrete situations. The analysis shows how diagnostic instruments become embodied in the perceptual habits of physicians and how diagnosing becomes an ongoing activity in the course of managing an illness trajectory.

Suggested Citation

  • Schubert, Cornelius, 2011. "Making sure. A comparative micro-analysis of diagnostic instruments in medical practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 73(6), pages 851-857, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:73:y:2011:i:6:p:851-857
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mort, Maggie & Goodwin, Dawn & Smith, Andrew F & Pope, Catherine, 2005. "Safe asleep? Human-machine relations in medical practice," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(9), pages 2027-2037, November.
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    Cited by:

    1. Armstrong, Natalie & Hilton, Paul, 2014. "Doing diagnosis: Whether and how clinicians use a diagnostic tool of uncertain clinical utility," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 208-214.
    2. Gutin, Iliya, 2022. "Not ‘putting a name to it’: Managing uncertainty in the diagnosis of childhood obesity," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).
    3. Maslen, Sarah & Harris, Anna, 2021. "Becoming a diagnostic agent: A collated ethnography of digital-sensory work in caregiving intra-actions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 277(C).
    4. Tyskbo, Daniel & Sergeeva, Anastasia, 2022. "Brains exposed: How new imaging technology reconfigures expertise coordination in neurosurgery," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    5. Wilson, Nicky & Pope, Catherine & Roberts, Lisa & Crouch, Robert, 2014. "Governing healthcare: Finding meaning in a clinical practice guideline for the management of non-specific low back pain," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 138-145.
    6. Brown, Eliza, 2020. "Projected diagnosis, anticipatory medicine, and uncertainty: How medical providers ‘rule out’ potential pregnancy in contraceptive counseling," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).

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