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Kelly Underman, Review of Feeling Medicine: How the Pelvic Exam Shapes Medical Training, Social Forces, Volume 100, Issue 1, September 2021, Page e7, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soab021
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Reviewer: Laura Mauldin, University of Connecticut, USA
In Feeling Medicine, Kelly Underman charts the history of pelvic examination in medicine and explores the role of gynecological training associate (GTA) programs in medical education today. Underman effectively makes the case that changes in the pelvic exam exemplify larger changes in medical education. One such change is new licensing exam requirements that cover “professionalism,” a term meant to capture the behavior in interactions between physicians and patients, especially as it relates to emotional aspects. Underman uses the phrase “technologies of affect” to capture these transformations and advance theories of professional dominance after biomedicalization. Throughout, Underman also contributes to thinking in affect theory and biopolitics. This is a deeply researched tome. She draws on a wealth of data from a variety of sources to make the case, such as medical journal articles, syllabi, GTA program reports and training materials, and interviews with key stakeholders. To a lesser extent, she draws on her own experience working as a GTA.