ABSTRACT
The aim of this chapter is to explore how surgeon subjectivities (pedagogic and clinical identities) are constructed in clinical learning and medical education by examining surgical training experiences. The subject is tackled from a dual perspective involving, a trainee account of selection into surgical training and an educator response to the rigid frameworks (hylomorphism) that shape and influence the conception and delivery of surgeon education. The objective of this exploration is to think critically and constructively beyond the established pedagogy. That is, to illuminate the affective conditions of practice and how professional practice and learning is experienced. The critical discussions of this chapter are informed by pedagogies of encounter, the theoretical framework developed in Chapters 2 and 3, which explore the affective aspects of experiencing in encounters with clinical practice. This chapter also includes a brief discussion about the impact of the outcomes agenda in medical education and the challenges of quantifying and measuring aspects of clinical performance. It concludes by arguing that the forms of learning that emerge from the uncertainties of practice represent adventures of pedagogic work – they exceed attempts to predefine how trainees and trainers identify and perform in actual incidences of practice.
