英文摘要 |
Taiwan’s Ministry of Health has implemented new policies regarding respiratory therapy for different illness stages in order to optimize efficiency in providing health care and increase the availability of ICU beds. Drawing upon participant observations and in-depth interviews, this article reveals otherwise obscured conflicts of interest between patient benefits and organizational demands in the professional practices of respiratory therapists. Specifically, from an institutional ethnography (IE) analysis, this article illuminates multiple dimensions of “ruling relations” in institutionalized respiratory therapy resulting in making and maintaining class inequalities for the socially disadvantaged. In critical dialogue with IE, this article concludes with methodological reflections and limitations in doing institutional ethnography. |