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How do junior doctors working in a multicultural context make sense of somatisation?
Noelle Junod Perron1, Patricia Hudelson
1Policlinique de médecine, Départment de médecine communautaire, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève, Switzerland. noelle.junod@hcuge.ch
Swiss Medical Weekly
|October 7, 2005
Summary
Junior doctors
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Psychiatry
- Sociology
Background:
- Physicians' understanding of clinical issues is shaped by training and experience.
- Informal learning in clinical settings significantly impacts junior doctors' knowledge, especially without formal training.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore junior doctors' explanatory models of somatisation.
- To investigate the influence of working with immigrant populations on their understanding and practice.
Main Methods:
- Semi-structured interviews with 14 junior doctors at Geneva University Hospitals.
- Analysis of interview themes regarding somatisation definitions, understanding, and management.
Main Results:
- Somatisation caused uncertainty and frustration due to lack of formal training.
- Contact with immigrant patients heavily influenced junior doctors' somatisation models.
- Somatisation was linked to migration-related psychosocial stresses, with some groups perceived as more prone.
Conclusions:
- Contextual factors significantly influence physicians' explanatory models, particularly without formal training.
- Formal training is needed to enhance junior doctors' somatisation understanding and prevent cultural stereotyping.
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