ABSTRACT
Bio-scientific medicine is experiencing a technical imperative focused on advances in curing along with separation from the subjective issues of caretaking. This imperative involves a cultural complex, a collective of ideas and conditions that have shifted the attention of these health professionals toward efficiencies and material solutions and away from the subjective issues of healing, from the experiences and meanings associated with patients and their illnesses. This cultural complex is energized by the archetypal forces of healing and the ethos of quality healthcare for all. Concurrently, the golden age for medical professionals has waned. Conclusions were developed from an interview study of highly experienced nurses and physicians who averaged 37 years of clinical work. Their work has become less meaningful. Work-related trends within modern medicine’s cultural complex are addressed along with potential answers to the associated problems.
