American medicine, the quest for competence

American Medicine: The Quest for Competence, the first book to explore in depth the meaning and politics of competence in modern American medicine, examines questions that lie at the heart of the contemporary debate about medical care. Based on Mary-Jo DelVecchio Good's recent ethnographic studies of three distinct medical communities - physicians in rural California, academics and students involved in Harvard Medical School's innovative "New Pathway" curriculum, and oncologists working on breast cancer treatment - the book demonstrates the centrality of the issue of competence throughout the medical world. The theme of competence, Good shows, provides common ground for discussing the power struggles between rural general practitioners and specialists, organizational changes within the halls of academia, and the clinical narratives of high-technology oncologists. A timely, provocative study that addresses one of the fundamental issues in contemporary medicine, American Medicine: The Quest for Competence is essential reading for medical professionals, educators, and students; medical anthropologists and sociologists; and health-care policymakers.