Paper short abstract:

The presentation will use simulation-based training in medical education as an example to illustrate developments in the medical profession. Additionally, it will provide an opportunity to analyse the sensory and material culture of medical education as a field of interest.

Paper long abstract:

Simulation-based training (SBT) involves the use of dummies, models, VR technology or simulation patients for medical education purposes. This teaching method challenges classical notions of professionalism. According to Abbott's theory, professions facilitate their professionalism through knowledge and its application as jurisdictional claims (Abbott 1988, S. 59–66). Therefore, the introduction of a new teaching method should be viewed as an indication of the (r)evolution of the profession. Accordingly, my research triangulates legal backgrounds, including university curricula, public discourse in the form of academic articles, and workplace-based interviews and ethnographic material. The aim is to illuminate medical educators' conceptions of SBT since the mid-1980s.

For the panel, I would like to highlight my workplace-based materials and other research that demonstrate the situational embeddedness of medical knowledge and its application, particularly through the use of medical instruments and the bodily postures expected of medical professionals (Harris 2011). This not only resonates with Abbott's notion of the production of professional workplaces and habits but also highlights the importance of commodities. Commodities are material representations of the abstract knowledge of a profession, to work with and around (Abbott 1991). In SBT, these are used to represent parts of the body, provide similar sensory experiences, and ultimately convey the expertise of professional movement. This contradicts the idea that SBT is solely digital, although virtual reality programs can be utilized nowadays, too (Wojcik 2022). These insights enhance the analysis of SBT and medical education overall by providing a deeper understanding of the sensory and material culture involved.