Somos una banda: Los médicos como grupo antropológico

Abstract

In this paper we try to explain, using an anthropological point of view, how the medical community behaves like a tribe like those who inhabit the Amazon forests or the African Savanna. The Family as fundamental unit of a band of hunter-gatherers also defines the Primary Care Centre and the professionals who work there, as an egalitarian group in which every member works for the good of the tribe. The leaders of the tribe, also called “Health Centre Managers”, are also comparable to the “big men” of Polynesia or the aborigines, who leads hunting parties. Even the clashes between physicians about the responsibilities as regards patients have been described throughout history in the anthropological literature, and they repeat the patterns of the segmental groups. We finish by concluding that this vision of warring tribes has to be overcome in order to advance towards the improvement of our community's health.