Death in the Vision of Doctors. An Anthropological Perspective

The research fits a cultural anthropology context, pursuing, at this level, the identification of particular views on death, as reported by doctors from various specialties. The current research took into consideration the meaning of death from the point of view of such doctors, without worrying that the way in which death is regarded will reflect upon the medical practice itself. This topic may be the object of further research. The research was conducted through means of a constructive methodology, using the semi-structured individual interview as the main technique, the questions being asked in an non-specific order. The data interpretation was realized through the successive induction method, correlated with the explorative generative character of the research. The chosen methodology implies a systematic generation process with regard to concepts and theories based on the collected data. The role of data management theory in the research is emphasized in order to provide ways of conceptualizing explanations and descriptions. Respondents usually have a spiritual orientation and don’t accept the idea of death as an ending. The continuity of life after death gives sense to the entire existence and the idea of moral life. The human dimension of medical practice makes the respondents adhere to the need for humanizing existence through the guarantee of a post-existence dimension.