Digital Commons Network^™

Chaos In The Clinic:Applications Of Choas Theory To A Qualitative Study Of A Veterinary Practice, Eleanor Craven Brennan

The Qualitative Report

This paper is the result of a twelve hour participant observation study of a local, private veterinary practice in southeastern Pennsylvania. Field notes and semi-structured interviews, the result of naturally occurring conversation between me and practice members, were taken over a twelve week period, one hour of site visit each week. Using a grounded theory methodology, categories of social interaction among veterinarians, veterinary technicians, clerical staff, owners and animal clients were assembled, discarded and re-assembled. The resulting categories were analyzed using the conceptual framework of chaos theory and the principles of uncertainty. It appears that the most striking feature of …