The management of enthusiasm: motives and expectations in cardiovascular medicine

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Will, Catherine M (2010) The management of enthusiasm: motives and expectations in cardiovascular medicine. Health, 14 (6). pp. 547-563. ISSN 1363-4593

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Abstract

Debates about appropriate action in medicine often turn on finding the right emotional orientation to new developments. In this article enthusiasm emerges as a key term in a professional `vocabulary of motive around innovation, complicating current sociological interest in expectations. The negative associations that adhere to this word among clinical researchers indicate awareness with the difficulty of managing hype and public hopes, but analysis of its use by cardiologists over the past two decades also reveals tension around more specific professional dangers, including `credulity and inappropriate activism. An emphasis on clinical trials offers one resolution, but additional narrative strategies can be identified when discussing when to start such trials here illustrated for stem cells for cardiac repair. In particular, while some suggest delaying trials until there is good knowledge of mechanism gained in the laboratory, others support early clinical research through gestures of therapeutic and epistemic modesty.

Item Type: Article
Schools and Departments: School of Law, Politics and Sociology > Sociology
Subjects: H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Depositing User: Catherine Will
Date Deposited: 24 Jul 2014 15:31
Last Modified: 03 Jul 2019 02:49
URI: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/49399

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