Phenomenological ethnography of radiology: expert performance in enacting diagnostic cognition

Abstract

The article is based on research conducted at the actual radiology department. Itpresents a range of descriptions and analyses of concrete operations performed byradiologists during their daily professional routine. After careful ethnographic obser-vations, phenomenological analysis is employed with a view to examining the enactivecognition in the radiologist’s Blife-world^. The paper uses both ethnography andphenomenology in order to reveal the essential regularities and sedimentations ofeveryday radiological processes, and the Beveryday background^ of certain scientific-cognitive operations. The method of research includes Benactive proofs^— observa-tions and analysis of the externalization of a radiologist’s professional memory throughthe enaction of medical imaging and imageconsciousness. The findings of this researchhave much to offer to both philosophy and radiological praxis. While the observationsstrongly support the development of enactive phenomenology, critique of representa-tionalism, primacy of inference in cognition, and shared intentions, they also provideinsight into concrete operations in coping with radiology’s paraphernalia, habituality,the origin of mistakes, multilay ered communication, and improving professionalpraxis.