Faculty of Science, Unit for the History and Philosophy of Science
Abstract
Using the example of the patient-worn hospital gown, this thesis explores the role of mundane artefacts in the social structuring of clinical settings. Data used in the article was collected over the period March 2013 to December 2014 from interviews held with physicians, nurses, patients, linen services, and general clinical staff working in, or admitted in, the public hospital network of New South Wales, Australia. The argument put forward in the thesis is that often-overlooked artefacts, such as the patient gown, play an instrumental role in the arrangement of various actors within the clinic; prepping varied, individual bodies for the receipt of a standardised model of health care
