Concepts life and death as basic elements of the surgeon’s professional self-identity

   The article studies linguistic representations of the concepts LIFE and DEATH, which are actualized in the medical narrative and serve as the basic elements of professional self-identification of a surgeon. We carried out a conceptual and content analysis of three generations of medical professionals’ interviews: surgeons born in the 1920 and 1930^s, in the 1940 and 1960^s, and in the 1970 and 1990^s. In the analyzed texts, the following representations of the concept DEATH related to professional euphemisms are found: sad outcome, cease to be, zero prognosis, the patient is doomed, should be left on the table and not subject to surgical treatment. It is noted that metaphorical representations of the LIFE concept, such as being on the verge of life and death and holding life in one's hands, are of particular importance for determining the features of surgeons’ professional self-identification. An important feature of the surgeon’s perception of their profession is the interpretation of their surgical activity not as a struggle with death, but a struggle for life, which is carried out by solving a specific problem. As a result of the study, we have found that the first generation is characterized by a sense of increased personal responsibility for saving lives as the quintessence of their professional activity. The second generation is more reflective, striving for a philosophical, figurative and romanticized understanding of their profession. The third generation is more pragmatic and less reflective. As a result of the study, we have established that the perception of the surgical activity as a way to prolong life is common to all generations, while death is not perceived metaphorically as a transition to another world, but as a cessation of the vital functions of the body.

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