Teaching Medical Sociology: Retrospection and Prospection (1978)

39 Medical sociology, on the other hand, is only beginning to be perceived as an established partner in medical education. What was still described in 1963 as its 'promise' (Reader, 1963) became a decade later the unequivocal assertion: 'Sociology has already contributed much to medicine ... has (in its work related to medicine) developed a distinct body of knowledge, and in fact, reached the position where it can contribute substantially to decision making in medicine'. (Kendall and Reader, 1972) As it has established its position, both as a legitimate sub-field of sociology as a collaborator with the medical professions, there is evidence of increasing attention by medical sociology to the applica- tions of its knowledge. The literature reveals a remarkable degree of concern about its development. (Caudill, 1953; Clausen, 1956; Reader and Goss, 1959; Reader, 1963; Suchman, 1964; Graham, 1964; Bloom, 1965; McKin- lay, 1972). Most of its continuing self-scrutiny, however, was - at least until recently - focused on the evaluation of its contribution to knowledge. We seem now to have found security in the legitimacy of this contribution, and to be turning to the effort to establish an organized dimension of applied social science - of which an example is seen in table 2.1. Williams, first in 1963 and again in 1972, sought to show how the knowledge of medical sociology was actually being applied. Hyman (1967) reviewed 'the uses of sociology for the problems of medicine'.