title: Medical sociology as a vocation.
abstract: This article extends Weber's discussion of science as a vocation by applying it to medical sociology. Having used qualitative methods for nearly 40 years to interpret problems of meaning as they arise in the context of health care, I describe how ethnography, in particular, and qualitative inquiry, more generally, may be used as a tool for understanding fundamental questions close to the heart but far from the mind of medical sociology. Such questions overlap with major policy questions such as how do we achieve a higher standard for quality of care and assure the safety of patients. Using my own research, I show how this engagement takes the form of showing how simple narratives of policy change fail to address the complexities of the problems that they are designed to remedy. I also attempt to explain how I balance objectivity with a commitment to creating a more equitable framework for health care.
authors.affiliation: University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA cbosk@sas.upenn.edu.
authors.forename: Charles L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Bosk
mesh_terms: D000884:Anthropology, Cultural / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009790:Occupations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012962:Sociology, Medical / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards / Q000639:trends
keywords: Reeder Award; health care; medical sociology; qualitative methods; vocation