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Title:
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An Analysis of Discourse Strategies in Pharmacy Consultations
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Author:
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Mark Landa
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Email:
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click here to access email
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Degree Awarded:
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University of Minnesota at Crookston
, Curriculum and Instruction
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Degree Date:
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2000
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Linguistic Subfield(s):
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Discourse Analysis
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Subject Language(s):
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English
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Director(s):
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Dale Lange
Amy Sheldon
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Abstract:
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Face-to-face communication is crucial in pharmacy practice. Increasing numbers of novices in this field need to communicate with patients and colleagues in English as their second language. This dissertation focuses on the predictable structural features of pharmacy consultations and the linguistic and social knowledge required of pharmacists in the United States. Four research questions are addressed: (a) What discourse strategies do pharmacists use in understanding and responding to clients' concerns about medication? (b) What do performance evaluations of novice pharmacists reveal about the effectiveness of their strategies? (c) How are current pharmacy guidelines put into operation in consultation discourse? (d) How do pharmacists with different levels of experience, performance ratings, and native languages compare in their handling of clients' concerns?
Pharmacy consultations of ten novices (four NS, six NNS) and three experienced pharmacists (two NS, one NNS) were videotaped and digitized for transcription using the notation system of Gumperz and Berenz (1993). The discourse analysis of the consultations follows the approach of Gumperz (1982; 1992). The novices, experienced pharmacists, and clients also reflect on their strategies, strengths and difficulties in playback interviews.
Results indicate that the consultations share a common underlying structure that includes specific sequences for handling the clients' concerns. Pharmacists select discourse strategies from eight sets of options at different points during the consulttion. The experienced pharmacists and the more highly rated novices have the following discourse strategies in common: soliciting clients' concerns in the context of onging talk about medication; providing elabored responses to the concerns; including reference to the physician during the consultation; and encouraging clients to interpserse contributions to the discourse throughout the consultation. Novices with lower ratings, including all but one nonnative speaker, tend not to employ these strategies, and they omit some of the required parts of the consultation.
The study suggests that discourse analysis has useful implications for performance assessment in the health care professions. A consultation is proposed as an authentic test task and learning activity in courses of Language for Specific Purposes.
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