Samme viden forskellige læger

Abstract

This thesis can be seen as the completion of my studies in Political Communication and Management at Copenhagen Business School. My thesis revolves around the paradigm of social constructivism and analytical strategy of Michel Foucault’s works on subjects. My motivations for writing this thesis are based on an interest in the future of the Danish health system. I will examine how: External conditions for health professional learning are produced, and how doctors’ handling of those conditions affects their own internal construction of themselves? In trying to answer this question, I am curious how certain obvious and self-evident conditions are constructed through alternating means and desires. I see this thesis as contributing a view on some of the challenges facing doctors when trying to acquire new health professional knowledge. I look at how three parties; Danish Regions, the Danish Pharmaceutical Association and doctors construct alternating views on knowledge and doctors. I look at how the production of external communication affects doctors. I investigate how doctors construct themselves in handling the conditions surrounding health professional knowledge. The main findings of the analysis are as follow: Analyzing unities of discourse, I examine breaks that allow me to view the chaotic internal structures that are doctors. Still I was surprised with the degree of strife and agency among individual doctors, as how to acquire health related knowledge. When doctors internalize external communication, the communication is multiplied as the doctors draw on several technologies. Doctors are governed through reassessment of drugs, clinical guidelines and technologies of self both naturalized and imposed from above by Danish Regions. The technologies objectify doctors and supply subject positions, which create particular styles of subjectivity with which doctors oppose or support. The results of the analysis clearly points to how you can view the communicative possibilities of doctors. Viewing doctors’ power relations through the concept reprofessionalization has proved effective, as it allows reflection over the immanent power and agency that doctors’ possess, when actively trying to affect the room of possibilities. Chiefly it seems that while doctors seem united to the outside, internal strife and agency leads to considerable differences as how to best acquire health professional knowledge.