“Like a Devoted Army”: Medicine, Heroic Masculinity, and the Military Paradigm in Victorian Britain

Brown, Michael F.

doi:10.1086/652000

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…This PIN resonates with the heroic masculinity of a long passed Victorian cultural imagination of medicine and the essential disregard for the self [ 52 ]. Similarly, it speaks to a time of colonisation and the expansion of foreign missionaries.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Heroic and the Villainous: a qualitative study characterising the role models that shaped senior doctors’ professional identity

Foster

Roberts

2016

BMC Med Educ

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BackgroundThe successful development and sustaining of professional identity is critical to being a successful doctor. This study explores the enduring impact of significant early role models on the professional identity formation of senior doctors.MethodsPersonal Interview Narratives were derived from the stories told by twelve senior doctors as they recalled accounts of people and events from the past that shaped their notions of being a doctor. Narrative inquiry methodology was used to explore and analyse video recording and transcript data from interviews.ResultsRole models were frequently characterised as heroic, or villainous depending on whether they were perceived as good or bad influences respectively. The degree of sophistication in participants’ characterisations appeared to correspond with the stage of life of the participant at the time of the encounter. Heroes were characterised as attractive, altruistic, caring and clever, often in exaggerated terms. Conversely, villains were typically characterised as direct or covert bullies. Everyday events were surprisingly powerful, emotionally charged and persisted in participants’ memories much longer than expected. In particular, unresolved emotions dating from encounters where bullying behaviour had been witnessed or experienced were still apparent decades after the event.ConclusionThe characterisation of role models is an important part of the professional identity and socialisation of senior doctors. The enduring impact of what role models say and do means that all doctors, need to consistently reflect on how their own behaviour impacts the development of appropriate professional behaviours in both students and training doctors. This is especially important where problematic behaviours occur as, if not dealt with, they have the potential for long-lasting undesirable effects. The importance of small acts of caring in building a nurturing and supportive learning atmosphere at all stages of medical education cannot be underestimated.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0731-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Heroic and the Villainous: a qualitative study characterising the role models that shaped senior doctors’ professional identity

Foster

Roberts

2016

BMC Med Educ

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“…Heroism has been noted as one of medicine's foundational narratives and has drawn critique from recent literature for its potential to act as a barrier to patient-physician communication, and also for its roots in a patriarchal or militaristic model of medicine. [27][28][29][30] In our study, physician heroics were communicated through forms of public media, a dynamic which has been noted previously. [31][32][33] We identified conflicts between personal identities (e.g., being a family member) and the notion that being a doctor means engaging in heroic selfsacrifice and even knowingly placing oneself in harm's way.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID as a catalyst: medical student perspectives on professional identity formation during the COVID-19 pandemic

et al. 2022

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Background: As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a national decision was made to remove all medical students from clinical environments resulting in a major disruption to traditional medical education. Our study aimed to explore medical student perspectives of professional identity formation (PIF) during a nationally unique period in which there was no clinical training in medical undergraduate programs. Methods: We interviewed fifteen UBC medical students (years 1-4) regarding their perspectives on PIF and the student role in the setting of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were analysed iteratively and continuously to create a codebook and identify themes of PIF based on interview transcripts. Results: We identified three key themes: (1) Medical students as learners vs contributing team members (2) Decreased competency as a threat to identity and (3) Doctors as heroes. Conclusions: The impact of disruptions due to COVID-19 catalyzed student reflections on their role within the healthcare system, as well as the role of self-sacrifice in physician identity. Simultaneously, students worried that disruptions to clinical training would prevent them from actualizing the identities they envisioned for themselves in the future. Ultimately, our study provides insight into student perspectives during a novel period in medical training, and highlights the unique ways in which PIF can occur in the absence of clinical exposure.

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“…Es en virtud de esta última que las médicas se distancian del estereotipo de género femenino de madresposa, mientras se acercan hacia los estereotipos de género masculinos que se asocian no sólo con ciertas especialidades, sino con la identidad médica per se. Diversas investigaciones han dado cuenta de que la medicina ha desarrollado a lo largo de siglos de historia una identidad profesional masculina, ya sea mediante la incorporación de valores y códigos de honor masculinos, la apropiación y recodificación de prácticas femeninas como la atención del parto medicalizada, o bien, por medio de la construcción social de la identidad médica en semejanza con la masculinidad (Adams, 2010;Brown, 2010;Nye, 1997;Ortiz 2001).…”

Section: Imagenunclassified

El alfa es el cirujano: Estereotipos de género y prestigio en las especialidades médicas

Villanueva Lozano

2023

Rev. interdiscip. estud. género col. Méx.

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Este artículo aborda el problema de la jerarquización y división sexual del trabajo en la profesión médica. El objetivo de la investigación fue conocer los estereotipos de género asociados a algunas especialidades médicas y la relación que éstos guardan con el prestigio de esas disciplinas. El análisis se realizó a partir de una serie de memes compartidos en redes sociales por profesionales de la salud y que posteriormente fueron comentados en cuatro grupos de discusión conformados por estudiantes de medicina y especialistas mexicanos. Los hallazgos de esta investigación permiten concluir que en la profesión médica existe una jerarquía generizada que replica formas de masculinidades hegemónicas y subalternas, y en la cual la heterosexualidad juega un papel determinante, evitando de este modo simplificaciones que clasifican algunas especialidades como femeninas y otras como masculinas. Este trabajo brinda herramientas para contestar y desmantelar los estereotipos de género asociados a ciertas especialidades médicas, lo que contribuye a avanzar hacia una equidad de género dentro de la profesión.

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“Like a Devoted Army”: Medicine, Heroic Masculinity, and the Military Paradigm in Victorian Britain

Cited by 17 publications

References 58 publications

The Heroic and the Villainous: a qualitative study characterising the role models that shaped senior doctors’ professional identity

The Heroic and the Villainous: a qualitative study characterising the role models that shaped senior doctors’ professional identity

COVID as a catalyst: medical student perspectives on professional identity formation during the COVID-19 pandemic

El alfa es el cirujano: Estereotipos de género y prestigio en las especialidades médicas

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