BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS WORKING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES' LARGEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Gemmae Fix; Aaron Seaman; Linda Nichols; Sarah Ono; Nicholas Rattray; Samantha Solimeo; Heather Reisinger; Traci Abraham

doi:10.17730/1938-3525-82.2.169

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BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS WORKING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES' LARGEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Journal article

Peer reviewed

BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS WORKING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES' LARGEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

Gemmae Fix, Aaron Seaman, Linda Nichols, Sarah Ono, Nicholas Rattray, Samantha Solimeo, Heather Reisinger and Traci Abraham

Human organization, Vol.82(2), pp.169-181

07/01/2023

DOI: 10.17730/1938-3525-82.2.169

PMCID: PMC13450104

PMID: 42569530

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Abstract

The disciplinary contribution of anthropologists employed outside traditional anthropology departments has been a topic of discussion and debate in the field for nearly a century. Alongside industry, nongovernmental, and nonprofit career paths, an increasing number of anthropologists have developed productive research careers outside of academic anthropology departments. The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which provides health care services to more than 9 million United States military veterans annually, is one federal employer that has become a professional home to many anthropologists. Anthropologists working in VA represent all four fields, have established roots in health services research, and have grown a national network of ethnographically-informed colleagues. These anthropologists constitute a Community of Practice that collaborates and contributes to scholarly discourse, health care operations, and policy. In this article, eight anthropologists with over 120 years of collective experience share insights into how our community of anthropological practice came into being, the organizational culture that sustains it, and the potential opportunities in health research for emerging scholars. Working at the intersection of multiple disciplines, this geographically dispersed community offers a viable model for anthropologists embedded within health care systems, in clinical academic settings, and learners seeking to broaden their understanding of anthropological praxis beyond anthropology departments.

Anthropology

Ethnography

Veterans

Academic careers

Academic departments

Anthropologists

Armed forces

Career development

Careers

Communities of practice

Community

Departments

Employment

Evidence-based practice

Health care policy

Health research

Health services

Labor market

Medical research

Occupations

Organizational culture

Organizational research

Qualitative research

Science

Scientists

Tenure

Details

Title: Subtitle: BUILDING A COMMUNITY OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE: THE CASE OF ANTHROPOLOGISTS WORKING WITHIN THE UNITED STATES' LARGEST HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Creators: Gemmae Fix
Aaron Seaman
Linda Nichols
Sarah Ono
Nicholas Rattray
Samantha Solimeo
Heather Reisinger
Traci Abraham
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Human organization, Vol.82(2), pp.169-181
DOI: 10.17730/1938-3525-82.2.169
PMID: 42569530
PMCID: PMC13450104
NLM abbreviation: Hum Organ
ISSN: 0018-7259
eISSN: 1938-3525
Publisher: Society of Applied Anthropology
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2023
Academic Unit: Center for Social Science Innovation; General Internal Medicine; Community and Behavioral Health; Internal Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984400642002771

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