Making consultations run smoothly: An analysis of doctors’ skilful use of time inspired by science and technology studies

This article investigates the skilful use of time in general practice consultations.
It argues that consultation work involves social and material interactions, which
are only partially conceptualized in existing medical practice literatures. As an
alternative, this article employs ideas from the field of science and technology
studies (STS), including notions of relationality, multiplicity and otherness.
Through this lens, and based on extensive fieldwork, it describes the daily
work of arranging time before, during and after consultations. In conclusion,
it suggests that a STS-inspired analysis opens up a wider discussion of time as a
complex resource and problem in general practice.