title: Participant observation and change of perspectives: medical anthropology and the encounter with socially marginalised groups. First experiences with a new teaching concept.
abstract: This paper examines the new teaching concept "Providing medical care on the fringe of society: Participant observation and change in perspectives" in the context of the interdisciplinary field of Querschnittsbereich 2/Q 2 (the transdisciplinary section under AOÄ, the German Regulations for licensed physicians) that explores the history, theory and ethics of medicine. The disciplinary approach usually adopted in Q 2 is supplemented with concepts from medical anthropology; in addition students will be exposed to people in extreme social situations. The aim is to make students aware of and invite them to reflect upon: the importance of participant observation in the specific on-site setting of medical thinking and acting; the importance of the subjectivity of all those involved in doctor/patient interaction; and the fact that key medical terms (such as the "need" as seen by the physician vs. the need as seen by the patient) are essentially context-dependent in their interpretation. At a more general level students will learn how to put themselves in the position of different protagonists in a range of medical settings, and practice the skill of reflecting critically upon putative conceptual/theoretical and normative-ethical assumptions in medicine.
authors.affiliation: Universität Gießen, Institut für Geschichte der Medizin, Gießen, Germany.
authors.forename: Berit
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mohr
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Hovermann
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Roelcke
mesh_terms: D060432:Anthropology, Medical / Q000193:education* / Q000941:ethics; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003479:Curriculum; D004501:Education, Medical / Q000941:ethics; D004992:Ethics, Medical; D005180:Faculty, Medical; D005858:Germany; D006703:Ill-Housed Persons; D006801:Humans; D062487:Social Marginalization; D013663:Teaching