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Biomedical subjects

J Nessa

Publications and source records attributed to J Nessa.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

[Man as a symbolic animal--symptoms as symbolic interaction].

This is an article about views of human nature. In western medicine man is conceived mainly as a biological being, a mammal. Philosophical-ontological questions about man's nature are answered implicitly in clinical practice. They are not, however, reflected explicitly. In this article it is argued that symptoms are primarily human experience. To understand these experiences and their expressions, it is necessary to understand man as an "animal symbolicum", a term introduced by the German philosopher Ernst Cassirer. Language is the most specific expression of man's symbolic activities, and symptoms are expressed verbally. Speech is part of social interaction--we, as human beings, have "the power of speech". This way of thinking is illustrated by clinical examples, and an alternative medical practice, homeopathy, is analyzed as a special means of symbolic interaction.

Humans↗
PubMed1990

[The science of the art of medicine. Qualitative methods in medical research].

Qualitative research methods dominate in the humanities (history, literature), theology, law and some social sciences (ethnography). The authors claim that using such research traditions could expand the scientific field of medical research, and that qualitative methods can be tools for medical scientists to gain knowledge of matters that until now have been obscure. This article presents some characteristics of these research traditions: Qualitative researchers tend more often to formulate questions and hypotheses than provide answers. They produce arguments for a given result, and do not pretend to prove facts. The qualitative researcher works mainly with texts (documents, transcriptions of interviews etc.) not with numbers and statistics. The article presents a survey of qualitative research methods, and gives examples of the use of these methods in medical research in general practice. Finally the authors discuss the problems connected to using the concept of "science" in everyday medical practice.

Humanities↗
PubMed1990

Discourse analysis in general practice: a sociolinguistic approach.

It is a simple but important fact that as general practitioners we talk to our patients. The quality of the conversation is of vital importance for the outcome of the consultation. The purpose of this article is to discuss a methodological tool borrowed from sociolinguistics--discourse analysis. To assess the suitability of this method for analysis of general practice consultations, the authors have performed a discourse analysis of one single consultation. Our experiences are presented here.

Communication↗