Main description:

First published in 1997, this work makes a substantial reexamination of the social processes behind the labelling of patients in hospital care. Taking an interpretive perspective, the author analyzes the social construction of patient labels identifying strategies for and the consequences of giving and receipt of 'good' and 'bad' labels. He shows how the rich data of truly participant observation in the tradition of reflexive ethnography can powerfully illuminate the experiences and actions of both patients and their nurses. It is a critical analysis of key work in this field. Professor Johnson demonstrates the redundancy of trait theories of social judgment, offering a more complex and negotiated reality in which patient labels form a part of a rich web of unequal power relations between nurses and their clients.

Contents:

1. Research Perspective. 2. Analytic Approach. 3. Participant Observation. 4. Access and Ethics. 5. Good and Bad Patients: a Review in Depth. 6. Judging People and Assessing. 7. The Climate of Social Judgement. 8. Negotiating. 9. Struggling. 10. Acquiescing. 11. Aspects of Caring and Coping. 12. Conclusion: a Theory of Social Judgement.