16/09/2022 –
BY DR. GABRIEL SANTANGELO
In social circles, the phrase where a mother introduces her son as “My son the Doctor” is popular. This expression is the result of a play written at the beginning of the 20th century and represents the drama between the people belonging to the rural society of the beginning of the century and those who have moved to the city.
The phrase was later taken over by colloquial language, representing social ascent and the hegemonic medical gaze where the “Doctor” meant the center of the medical act, almost as the only prestigious member of the health team. Although this continues partially in our time, it allows us to reflect on the current situation of health teams and analyze these new dimensions.
Already in 1973, the World Health Organization defined the health team as a “non-hierarchical association of people, with different professional disciplines, but with a common objective, which is to provide patients and families with care in any setting. comprehensive health care possible.” This declaration of almost 50 years is not fully applied in the different areas of health. Among other difficulties we find the history of medicine, where the role of the doctor was the center of the scene, which has led as a consequence to a hegemonic medical view, the doctor, male and with unquestionable knowledge, decided on the health of a person or a community.
However, throughout the last half of the 20th century, other health team professions have been hierarchized and their training and field of action have been differentiated. As an example we can mention the emergence of psychology and the professionalization of nursing, among others. This is why currently health teams have changed and little by little they have migrated from this masculine medical centralization to a more gender-balanced and interdisciplinary situation.
Various health areas train professionals with a comprehensive view without necessarily having medical training. This manages to expand the therapeutic teams and areas that in the past were exclusively medical and today are shared with other professions that have university training, hospital residences and roles in the health team with equal hierarchization for both members of the health team and for society. An example of this is the increase and professionalization of Nutrition Graduates.
Other more modern areas are already beginning to form part, without question, of the health team and currently there is a consensus that indicates that it is not only necessary to know about health or administration, but that the training of specialized health managers is becoming more and more important. required by private and even public institutions, where for example today there are hospital residences (such as those that a surgeon would do) of health economics and hospital management.
With the advancement of informatics, health could not escape being modernized and there is, for example, the Health Information Systems Specialty, a discipline that focuses on the analysis of information systems with the aim of detecting opportunities for gets better; as well as in the design and implementation of said systems to accompany the healthcare processes of assistance, teaching, research and health management, which contribute with quality information for patient care and decision-making. This specialty is recognized by the Ministry of Health of the City of Buenos Aires and also has an interdisciplinary residency.
Happily, the health team is changing the phrase “my son the Doctor” and today it has more scope, opportunities for training and professionalization in pursuit of better health for the patient and the community.
In social circles, the phrase where a mother introduces her son as “My son the Doctor” is popular. This expression is the result of a play written at the beginning of the 20th century and represents the drama between the people belonging to the rural society of the beginning of the century and those who have moved to the city.
The phrase was later taken over by colloquial language, representing social ascent and the hegemonic medical gaze where the “Doctor” meant the center of the medical act, almost as the only prestigious member of the health team. Although this continues partially in our time, it allows us to reflect on the current situation of health teams and analyze these new dimensions.
Already in 1973, the World Health Organization defined the health team as a “non-hierarchical association of people, with different professional disciplines, but with a common objective, which is to provide patients and families with care in any setting. comprehensive health care possible.” This declaration of almost 50 years is not fully applied in the different areas of health. Among other difficulties we find the history of medicine, where the role of the doctor was the center of the scene, which has led as a consequence to a hegemonic medical view, the doctor, male and with unquestionable knowledge, decided on the health of a person or a community.
However, throughout the last half of the 20th century, other health team professions have been hierarchized and their training and field of action have been differentiated. As an example we can mention the emergence of psychology and the professionalization of nursing, among others. This is why currently health teams have changed and little by little they have migrated from this masculine medical centralization to a more gender-balanced and interdisciplinary situation.
Various health areas train professionals with a comprehensive view without necessarily having medical training. This manages to expand the therapeutic teams and areas that in the past were exclusively medical and today are shared with other professions that have university training, hospital residences and roles in the health team with equal hierarchization for both members of the health team and for society. An example of this is the increase and professionalization of Nutrition Graduates.
Other more modern areas are already beginning to form part, without question, of the health team and currently there is a consensus that indicates that it is not only necessary to know about health or administration, but that the training of specialized health managers is becoming more and more important. required by private and even public institutions, where for example today there are hospital residences (such as those that a surgeon would do) of health economics and hospital management.
With the advancement of informatics, health could not escape being modernized and there is, for example, the Health Information Systems Specialty, a discipline that focuses on the analysis of information systems with the aim of detecting opportunities for gets better; as well as in the design and implementation of said systems to accompany the healthcare processes of assistance, teaching, research and health management, which contribute with quality information for patient care and decision-making. This specialty is recognized by the Ministry of Health of the City of Buenos Aires and also has an interdisciplinary residency.
Happily, the health team is changing the phrase “my son the Doctor” and today it has more scope, opportunities for training and professionalization in pursuit of better health for the patient and the community.
Fuente: Telam