The significance of history in exploring a contemporary health care professional issue

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to illustrate how historical fieldwork can make a significant contribution to exploring a contemporary health professional issue.

The article is based on my Ph.D. thesis: "It is not our patient - a cultural-theoretical and cultural-historical analysis of the importance of the organization of the hospital system for the hospitalization of old medical patients using Holbæk Hospital as an example", which among other things includes historical fieldwork to explore the current health care professional challenge.

The article briefly presents the Ph.D. project's research question, theory, method and analysis, as a background for subsequently exploring how historical fieldwork has been tackled, as well as examples of how historical exploration has made a valuable and significant contribution. Finally, there is a summary of the key points of the article.