Dr., teacher, or comforter? Medical consultation in a Zairian pediatrics clinic

An analytic description of the inpatient consultation in a pediatrics teaching clinic in an urban hospital in Zaire is presented. Participant observation revealed that in order to practice biomedicine in Zaire, the physicians establish a working, clinical model which takes into account particular aspects of the social, cultural and material environment. The hospital room changes from classroom, to examination room, to social/convalescent room as the definition of the situation shifts along with the role shifts of the actors. Contrasting health and illness expectations of the medical personnel and the parents, as well as French and vernacular language switching, emphasize the distinction among definitions of the situation and corresponding role behavior.