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Boundary at work: alternative medicine in biomedical settings
Nissim Mizrachi1, Judith T Shuval, Sky Gross
1Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Tel Aviv University, Israel. nissim@post.tau.ac.il
Sociology of Health & Illness
|March 15, 2005
Summary
Biomedical professions maintain boundaries by excluding and marginalizing alternative medicine practitioners in hospitals. This strategy protects core knowledge while managing inter-professional collaboration and tensions.
Area of Science:
- Medical Sociology
- Healthcare Management
- Professional Boundaries
Background:
- Modern medicine increasingly sees collaboration between alternative and biomedical practitioners.
- Hospitals are key sites for examining these inter-professional dynamics.
- Understanding boundary work is crucial for healthcare integration.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore boundary demarcation processes in hospitals.
- To examine collaboration between alternative and biomedical practitioners.
- To understand how the biomedical profession protects its knowledge and boundaries.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative research methods were employed.
- The study focused on collaboration within biomedical settings.
- Analysis centered on the mechanisms of boundary maintenance.
Main Results:
- Exclusion and marginalization are primary mechanisms for boundary marking.
- Symbolic boundaries are reinforced daily in the professional field.
- Biomedical professionals contain competitors and mitigate tensions through these processes.
Conclusions:
- Biomedical professions actively manage their boundaries against alternative medicine.
- Exclusion and marginalization serve to protect core biomedical knowledge.
- These strategies allow for managed collaboration while minimizing overt conflict.
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