Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Alireza Salehi ¹
• Mohammadsaeed Zokaei ²
• Ebrahim Ekhlasi ³

¹ MA of Sociology, Allameh Tabataba’i University

² Professor of Sociology , Allameh Tabataba'i University

³ Associate Professor of sociology, Allameh Tabataba'i University

Abstract

The medical relationship between a physician and their patient is unequal. The patient is in an urgent need to make a contract with the physician which includes the acceptance of the treatment plan and the payment for such treatment. However, The physician does not have the same urgency. This unequal situation may lead to misuse of power by the physician. The results of this critical ethnographic study, extracted from semi-structured interviews with a number of patients and physicians in the city of Tehran, show that five models for physicians' authority may appear in a doctor-patient relationship: Personal authority, being the extension of physician's authority in social sites other than medical practice. Coercive authority, constructed by neglecting the lived body. Authoritarianism, which is the result of manipulating patients' cognition. Juridical authority, which relies on doctor-patient protocols and civil rights, and finally, empathetic authority, which is based on a personal connection with the patient.  
 

Keywords

• Keywords: Empathetic Authority
• Motivational Economy
• Inner life
• Lived Body
• Biological Body

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