Understanding and Interaction in Clinical and Educational Settings examines the interplay of interaction, reasoning, setting, and culture that affects the creation of understandings. By analyzing and comparing routine activities and information resources in clinics and classrooms, Barry Saferstein identifies the components of interactions that enhance or limit understanding. He shows how explanations intended to produce knowledge may also mobilize aspects of professional culture that limit its scope and use. Standard formats of explanations often lead to difficulty understanding medical information or scientific concepts.

Understanding and Interaction in Clinical and Educational Settings explains how changes in the use of information resources can transform professional cultures in ways that improve understandings developed by patients and students. It will be of interest to medical practitioners, educators and scholars of social and cognitive sciences.