Temporality in Medical Work: Time also Matters

  • Authors:

  • Madhu C. Reddy;Paul Dourish;Wanda Pratt

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Information Sciences and Technology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, USA 16802-6823;Donald Bren School of Information and Computer Sciences, University of California, Irvine, USA;The Info-rmation School and Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

  • Venue:
  • Computer Supported Cooperative Work
  • Year:
  • 2006

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Abstract

CSCW has long been concerned with the distribution of activities in time and in space, but the problems of distributed work have often taken analytic and technical precedence. In this paper, we are interested in the issue of temporality in collaborative work. In particular, we want to examine how the temporal organization of action is experienced by those who are involved in it. To investigate this phenomenon, we conducted a field study of medical workers in a surgical intensive care unit. Through this study, we highlight the temporal organization of the work. In particular, we introduce and describe three temporal features --- temporal trajectories, temporal rhythms, and temporal horizons --- that emerge from and influence the work of healthcare providers as they attempt to seek, provide, and manage information during the course of their daily work.