Taming death and the consequences of discourse

Abstract

Healthcare environments have become increasingly complex, especially around the end of life. As they become more complex, organizational members are often pulled in competing directions as they manage to bring order to what otherwise would be a disorderly world. This extensive ethnographic study of a hospice and an emergency department (ED) critically analyzes the nature of discourse and its resulting accomplishments. I use the notion of ‘taming’ to describe the way providers talk about and make sense of their work and work environment, and the consequences it has for their own personal well-being, as well as for care around the end of life. The goal is to elucidate how reclaiming struggle and choice over meaning production is needed for healthcare challenges of the 21st century.