Abstract

GONZALEZ REQUEJO, Javier. The surgical operation: Rite of passage in a hospital context. Index Enferm [online]. 2008, vol.17, n.3, pp.201-204. ISSN 1699-5988.

The ritual is to analyze belongs to the field of health / disease. This is a surgical intervention, an act everyday without any apparent significance beyond the purely technique. The history of surgery is as old as man. In civilizations like Egyptian or pre-Columbian find evidence of interventions including skull. For Lain Entralgo "Cranial trepanation executed from the Palaeolithic in the most diverse places on the planet was undertaken with two different purposes, sometimes combined with each other: the surgical and magic." This ritual takes place today in a hospital setting, which is in line with the model defined total Institution Goffman. The process takes place at the Hospital del Oriente de Asturias, whose job as a surgical nurse block for six years, which provides a participant observation of the same. The main contribution of this paper is its ability to uncover the meanings of surgical procedure from an anthropologic perspective. This may serve as the basis for applying critical thinking and asking about our professional actions because things mean more than they seem.

Keywords : rites of passage; surgery; hospitalization.