Without the support of senior colleagues who can help the new doctor reflect on quite difficult and uncertain situations, new doctors will almost certainly perceive the first year of the new Foundation Programme as a survival exercise. If new doctors are working in an environment where their learning is properly facilitated, they are more likely to recognise their progress in their professional development and be more proactive in addressing concerns about professional expectations.

The aim of this paper is to present an interpretation of the accounts of depression provided by women from South Asian communities. The paper presents the findings from a qualitative study, conducted in the UK, which explored women from South Asian communities and their experiences of depression. It is argued here, through examples of women's accounts of their experiences, that depression is 'embodied', that is, grounded in the materiality of the body which is also immersed in subjective experiences and in the social context of women's lives. Qualitative data were collected from four focus groups and ten individual interviews with women. The analysis involved a discursive approach.Analysis revealed how women made strategic choices in how they presented their symptoms as legitimate and for gaining access to what they perceived to be appropriate healthcare. This is not to argue that this is a culturally specific phenomenon but one which is a feature of all healthcare negotiations.

Without the support of senior colleagues who can help the new doctor reflect on quite difficult and uncertain situations, new doctors will almost certainly perceive the first year of the new Foundation Programme as a survival exercise. If new doctors are working in an environment where their learning is properly facilitated, they are more likely to recognise their progress in their professional development and be more proactive in addressing concerns about professional expectations.

No abstract

This article critiques the contribution of two main theoretical perspectives on mental health care and ethnicity, with particular reference to Asian women. It considers the work of those who highlight the impact of culture on the health and illness experience (Kleinman 1980, Rack 1982, Fernando 1989) and the work of authors who argue that the impact of broader socio‐economic structures must be considered (Donovan 1989, Pearson 1989, Ahmad 1993). It is posited that the emphasis on cultural difference results in crude monolithic generalizations about Asian culture and operates as a smokescreen for the impact of poverty and racism. The backdrop to this article is provided by an assessment of the problematic conceptual framework of Western mental health and the role it plays in perpetuating stereotypes. It is concluded that mental health nurses need a thorough understanding of the complexity of the cultural and social factors that influence health and illness; an understanding which falls somewhere between these two theoretical perspectives. Such an approach needs to be grounded in the experience of mental health clients themselves if it is to be appropriate.