The transformation in the labor process in the context of technology-skill relationship: A field study on physicians

Labor process theory; It is an approach that analyzes the production structure with the labor itself, its object and the elements of the means of production. According to the theory, the means of production, which develop under the influence of technology, have the potential to transform the labor process as a whole. Within the scope of this thesis, the transformation of medicine, which is a professional profession, with the effect of technological developments, has been tried to be analyzed with the theory of labor process. In the thesis study, it is aimed to determine the effects of developments in medical technologies on the skill level of physicians. As a result of the technology-based transformations experienced in the labor process of physicians, it has been determined as the main problematic to reveal whether their clinical skills have been eroded. Within the scope of the thesis, field research was carried out by adopting a qualitative research method and in-depth interviews were conducted with 36 physicians in total. The qualitative data obtained were analyzed with the descriptive analysis approach in the context of the conceptual framework determined by the labor process theory. Based on the data obtained as a result of the research, it was found that, as a result of a series of transformations triggered by the developments in medical technologies, the clinical skills of physicians in the context of holistic medical knowledge and autonomy in the conduct of work are in a tendency to erode.