ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to extend the critical discussions and research literature that examine the role of emotions in clinical learning, medical education and practice. It does so by exploring the notion of affect and how it is implicated in the resultant emotions, thoughts (decision-making) and behaviours that manifest when confronted by the uncertainty of professional practice. This critical exploration is entered from the perspective of affect theory and its philosophical foundations, examining the relevant theories of Alfred North Whitehead, Gilles Deleuze and Brian Massumi. The investigation of affect emphasizes its particular qualities; a surge of energy that can enhance or limit an individual’s capacities to think and act, autonomous forces which once precipitated by a particular event of practice are independent of this initiating encounter. The chapter concludes with a brief introduction to how affect is implicated in a professional code of conduct and an ethics of practice, touching on the notion of ‘becoming undone’ (Butler 2005).
