The Donaldization of Health and Medicine: Charismatic Authority and the Wellness Movement

• In Event: Medical Sociology Section Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 4. The Institution of Medicine

Abstract

Like many social institutions and organizations, the field of healthcare has undergone a process of rationalization under conditions of modernity. Organizations such as the American Medical Association and the National Medical Association played a role in this process in the United States by professionalizing the field of medicine. Furthermore, regulatory boards and agencies have contributed to the process of rationalization by regulating medical organizations and practices and certifying medical professionals. These organizations license healthcare professionals, set and enforce standards in conjunction with state and federal authorities, and take disciplinary action against organizations and practitioners who do not follow these standards. However, over the past several decades, both real and perceived failures of practitioners, organizations, and institutions in the fields of health and medicine have led to declining public trust at all levels. In turn, declining levels of trust have created a situation in which the public has become more accepting of the influence of charismatic leaders who, highlighting these real or perceived failures, make claims that are substantiated by their personal intuition rather than evidence-based practices thus representing a (re)charismatization of health and medicine. This process is explored within the context of the increasing charismatization of social institutions and organizations more broadly, a process described here as Donaldization.

Author

• Jason Thomas Surratt, Hawkeye Community College