So Much More Than a Job: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Healthcare Work

Gerard, Nathan

doi:10.20897/ejeph/81156

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Drawing from this literature, we might assume that professionalization efforts in healthcare management portray the common mechanism of defense known as "reaction formation," defined in economic terms as the conscious assertion of an idea equal in strength to its opposite in the unconscious (with the former constituting a replacement of, or "reaction against," the distress caused by the latter [67]). It is worth speculating, for instance, whether the strong tendency to exude excellence and exceptionalism by healthcare organizations and healthcare leaders [29] functions to conceal a lack of exceptionalism often experienced on a daily basis by clinicians and managers alike [41].…”

Section: Underlying Identity Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Perils of Professionalization: Chronicling a Crisis and Renewing the Potential of Healthcare Management

Gerard

2019

Health Care Anal

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This paper critically examines efforts to "professionalize" the field of healthcare management and its corresponding costs. Drawing upon the scholarly critiques of professionalization in medicine and the broader field of management, this paper seeks to explore the symbolic role professionalization might play in the psyche of its constituents, and specifically its function as a defense against uncertainty and anxiety. This psychodynamic heuristic is then deployed to put forth the hypothesis that an ongoing crisis of professional identity continues to both propel and impede professionalization efforts in healthcare management, giving rise to a litany of standardization pressures that ultimately limit the field's potential. To mitigate these pressures, the call is made for rekindling healthcare management's moral, political, and existential aspects. Specifically, this entails engaging with the deeper themes that flow through the field: the experience of illness and what it means to suffer, the experience of life and what it means to have hope, and the experience of death and dying. It also entails squarely confronting questions of power, poverty and disease, and the pursuit of justice.

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Section: Underlying Identity Crisismentioning

confidence: 99%

Perils of Professionalization: Chronicling a Crisis and Renewing the Potential of Healthcare Management

Gerard

2019

Health Care Anal

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“…Peering closer, we find that the alleged boom in healthcare employment is largely concentrated in the direct care sector, and particularly in home health services (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2017b). Not only are these jobs some of the lowest paying in the economyon a par with fast-food jobs and rated by Forbes magazine as one of the top 25 worst jobs in America (Maidment, 2007) they also come with the added psychological burden of being on the front lines of care, often with little organizational support (Gerard, 2017b). Moreover, in the USA, nearly half of these workers do not have access to employer-sponsored healthcare and, instead, qualify for Medicaid because of their low incomeironically, the same entity that pays their salaries as direct care workers (Reaves and Musumeci, 2015).…”

Section: Ubi's Connection To Healthcarementioning

confidence: 99%

Universal healthcare and universal basic income

Gerard

2018

JHOM

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to draw parallels between universal basic income (UBI) and universal healthcare, highlighting their conceptual alignment and combined implications for health management and organization. Design/methodology/approach The idea that everyone should receive a set amount of money regardless of employment finds renewed momentum amid increasingly precarious work arrangements and an uncertain job market. Less explored, however, is the connection between this idea and the more established notion of universal healthcare. This paper brings these two ideas together by examining their shared underpinnings in capitalist work relations, and more broadly a global economic system organized by and for corporations at the expense of workers. Findings The argument is made that the underlying dynamics of contemporary capitalism cannot be relied upon to provide for basic health and wealth. These limitations must be offset with social assurances that not only mitigate capitalism's liabilities, but also facilitate innovation and sustainable growth. Originality/value Rarely have UBI and universal healthcare been considered together. This paper examines their shared origins in a capitalist world system and demonstrates their shared justification in a future increasingly devoid of stable work.

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So Much More Than a Job: A Psychoanalytic Exploration of Healthcare Work

Cited by 2 publications

References 16 publications

Perils of Professionalization: Chronicling a Crisis and Renewing the Potential of Healthcare Management

Perils of Professionalization: Chronicling a Crisis and Renewing the Potential of Healthcare Management

Universal healthcare and universal basic income

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