Resumé
years been undergoing great changes due to on-going rationalization under headings such as New Public
Management, LEAN and Evidence Based Medicine. In this paper we focus on standardization as the heart of
this process, and we scrutinize the complex ways that different forms of standardization affect work in a
specific field, psychiatry, asking questions such as: What counts as work? How do social relations and
hierarchies change? What are the implications for emotional work?
Psychiatric services comprise a special context for standardization. Psychiatry has a long history as a kind of
stepchild of medicine, one of the reasons being the insistence on maintaining a humanistic focus,
perceiving human beings as unique, and not whole-heartedly embracing the rational medical approach that
categorize humans based on diagnoses. Subsequently, work in psychiatric care in Denmark is often
organised in interdisciplinary teams comprising social workers, care workers, nurses, psychologists and
psychiatrists, all involved in work concerning diagnostics and treatment. Emotional labour is an on-going
part of the working process which takes place in interaction with the patients and their network. We
perceive emotional labour as a highly skilled activity, which may both be rewarding and stress-full, and
which comprises many different types of activity. It may for example be the very core of work, or it may be
involved ‘in getting the job done’.
This paper explores how work in psychiatry is transformed through standardization. It is based on a case
study of an ambulant unit within child psychiatry ‘producing’ diagnoses and treatment/education of
children (and their families), using ethnographic field studies and semi-structured individual and groupbased
interviews. The paper illustrates how the social relations in the interdisciplinary team are strained,
how the conception of work is subject to negotiation and struggle, and how emotional work is affected.
| Originalsprog | Dansk |
|---|---|
| Tidsskrift | Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv |
| Vol/bind | 15 |
| Udgave nummer | 4 |
| Sider (fra-til) | 42-58 |
| Antal sider | 18 |
| ISSN | 1399-1442 |
| Status | Udgivet - 2013 |
Citer dette
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Hvad tæller, og hvem tæller? Standardisering og emotionelt arbejde i psykiatrien. / Dybbroe, Betina; Kamp, Annette.
I: Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv, Bind 15, Nr. 4, 2013, s. 42-58.Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskrift › Tidsskriftartikel › Forskning › peer review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Hvad tæller, og hvem tæller?
T2 - Standardisering og emotionelt arbejde i psykiatrien
AU - Dybbroe, Betina
AU - Kamp, Annette
PY - 2013
Y1 - 2013
N2 - Work in the public health sector in Denmark (as well as in other European countries) has in the last 15-20years been undergoing great changes due to on-going rationalization under headings such as New PublicManagement, LEAN and Evidence Based Medicine. In this paper we focus on standardization as the heart ofthis process, and we scrutinize the complex ways that different forms of standardization affect work in aspecific field, psychiatry, asking questions such as: What counts as work? How do social relations andhierarchies change? What are the implications for emotional work?Psychiatric services comprise a special context for standardization. Psychiatry has a long history as a kind ofstepchild of medicine, one of the reasons being the insistence on maintaining a humanistic focus,perceiving human beings as unique, and not whole-heartedly embracing the rational medical approach thatcategorize humans based on diagnoses. Subsequently, work in psychiatric care in Denmark is oftenorganised in interdisciplinary teams comprising social workers, care workers, nurses, psychologists andpsychiatrists, all involved in work concerning diagnostics and treatment. Emotional labour is an on-goingpart of the working process which takes place in interaction with the patients and their network. Weperceive emotional labour as a highly skilled activity, which may both be rewarding and stress-full, andwhich comprises many different types of activity. It may for example be the very core of work, or it may beinvolved ‘in getting the job done’.This paper explores how work in psychiatry is transformed through standardization. It is based on a casestudy of an ambulant unit within child psychiatry ‘producing’ diagnoses and treatment/education ofchildren (and their families), using ethnographic field studies and semi-structured individual and groupbasedinterviews. The paper illustrates how the social relations in the interdisciplinary team are strained,how the conception of work is subject to negotiation and struggle, and how emotional work is affected.
AB - Work in the public health sector in Denmark (as well as in other European countries) has in the last 15-20years been undergoing great changes due to on-going rationalization under headings such as New PublicManagement, LEAN and Evidence Based Medicine. In this paper we focus on standardization as the heart ofthis process, and we scrutinize the complex ways that different forms of standardization affect work in aspecific field, psychiatry, asking questions such as: What counts as work? How do social relations andhierarchies change? What are the implications for emotional work?Psychiatric services comprise a special context for standardization. Psychiatry has a long history as a kind ofstepchild of medicine, one of the reasons being the insistence on maintaining a humanistic focus,perceiving human beings as unique, and not whole-heartedly embracing the rational medical approach thatcategorize humans based on diagnoses. Subsequently, work in psychiatric care in Denmark is oftenorganised in interdisciplinary teams comprising social workers, care workers, nurses, psychologists andpsychiatrists, all involved in work concerning diagnostics and treatment. Emotional labour is an on-goingpart of the working process which takes place in interaction with the patients and their network. Weperceive emotional labour as a highly skilled activity, which may both be rewarding and stress-full, andwhich comprises many different types of activity. It may for example be the very core of work, or it may beinvolved ‘in getting the job done’.This paper explores how work in psychiatry is transformed through standardization. It is based on a casestudy of an ambulant unit within child psychiatry ‘producing’ diagnoses and treatment/education ofchildren (and their families), using ethnographic field studies and semi-structured individual and groupbasedinterviews. The paper illustrates how the social relations in the interdisciplinary team are strained,how the conception of work is subject to negotiation and struggle, and how emotional work is affected.
M3 - Tidsskriftartikel
VL - 15
SP - 42
EP - 58
JO - Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv
JF - Tidsskrift for Arbejdsliv
SN - 1399-1442
IS - 4
ER -