Submission ID 78265
| Code | OA-1-6 |
|---|---|
| At the end of this workshop, participants will be able to: | |
| Category | Medical Education |
| Type | Oral |
| Will the presenter be a: | Graduate Student |
| Title | Examining the Past to Prepare for the Future: an Archival Analysis of Health Care Teams |
| Background/Purpose | Effective team-based care is increasingly recognized as essential to mitigate current health workforce shortages. Knowledge of historical dynamics within the health care workforce provides key findings to inform future education and practice changes. To date, examinations of past health care teams have focused on physicians and nurses, a scope which has obscured the contributions of diverse actors of a health care team. |
| Methods | We conducted an archival study of Toronto's University Health Network. Using critical historical and discourse analysis, we focused attention on the identities of profession, gender, and race, to assess key assumptions about the role of members of a health care team. Specifically, we assessed how the nature of workplace language (1) shaped regimes of labour (2) contributed to the definitions of 'skilled' and 'unskilled' work and (3) impacted perceptions of the workplace environments and labour essential for quality patient care. |
| Results | In its 1988 annual report, the Toronto Hospital network's mission statement proclaimed the institution's commitment to "fostering excellence in health care delivery" by "making optimal use of the resources of both its divisions." As this study reveals, the identification of which actors and forms of knowledge were valued as resources remained rooted in relationships of imbalanced power based on professional status, gender, and race. |
| Discussion | Historical descriptions of the tensions and collaborations that have shaped past work environments are crucial to allow us to learn from past successes, avoid repeating challenges, and create effective education to prepare future health workers to provide the best care possible. |
| Keyword 1 | Labour Dynamics |
| Keyword 2 | Health Care Team |
| Keyword 3 | Historical Discourse Analysis |
| Abstract content most relevant to: (check all that apply) | Continuing Professional Development (CPD) (faculty development, CME)
Residency Education Undergraduate Medical Education |
| Abstract Track - First Choice | Health Workforce |
| Authors | Lucy Vorobej Lucy Vorobej Cynthia Whitehead |
