Unit 8 Section 6 Exercise 22Technology, Policy & CultureRebecca Pope
Earlier when reading about epidemics, we questioned the one-on-one role of the doctor. Along the same lines, Rebecca Pope, in the interview, questions the individual’s sick role. She contrasts the ‘pathography’ or illness narrative of the individual patient with the interaction of impersonal (and hence non-narrative) forces that promote conditions of sickness and ill health. View the video to 2:27 minutes and answer the study questions.
The bigger picture: Rebecca Pope “cancer narratives” 
Study Questions
1. Pope mentions the ‘standard cancer narrative’ and describes its features. Is this narrative structure generalizable to other illnesses? Give an example. Is there something limiting about the structure of narrative? How does that limitation relate to the standard way we practice medicine? (Hint: return to Unit 1 features on story-telling)
2. Pope mentions the political, social, economic and economic components of health and disease that are absent from the illness narrative. Review some of the stories on this website, or from your own repertoire. Think of stories that do in fact capture the bigger picture. Now think of health care workers in the personal narratives of their jobs. In what ways can they go beyond their own story to impact those larger elements Pope mentions? |
