Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

Amongst members of the medical profession there has been much discussion in recent years about the nature and content of medical work and the appropriate role that doctors should play in contemporary health and social care. There has even been a suggestion that there needs to be a ‘cultural revolution’ in medicine. High profile public inquiries, media attention and a more consumer orientated culture are some of the factors that have contributed to this. This project investigated the views and day to day experiences of medical clinicians and examined how they are being shaped by ongoing social, policy, organisational and technological transformations. Being a Doctor: a Sociological Analysis, 2005-2006 was an exploratory study which aimed to develop a sociological understanding of the views and experiences of doctors working within the National Health Service (NHS). The research questions that guided the study were: what do doctors who work day in and day out delivering patient care in hospitals, health centres and clinics make of changes to health care? Are they aware of these calls for changes to their practice and values? Do contemporary developments affect how they feel about themselves? Qualitative interviews were carried out with 52 doctors from NHS health care settings who varied in terms of medial specialities, age, gender, ethnicity, seniority, and locality. Forty-seven doctors (28 men and 19 women) who were working in hospital settings in the North of England and 5 (4 men and 1 woman) who were working in general practice were interviewed. Users should note that the UKDA collection contains only 50 interview transcripts. Further information is available from the ESRC Award web page.

Main Topics:

The interview explores the following areas:education and careercurrent workgeneral views on the medical profession

Purposive selection/case studies

Face-to-face interview