DOCTOR - PATIENT INTERACTION AT A CONSULTANCY ROOM: A CASE STUDY IN AUSTRALIA

Abstract

This paper includes a detailed analysis of a consultation between a general practitioner and his patient in a Canberra suburb. This study illustrates the shift towards model of patient-centeredness which is applaused in Australia. The purpose of this study not only reinforces
the new concept of medical consultation - patient-centeredness but also confrms the necessity of change in medical discourse and reveals the reasons that lead to the movement in doctor talk. The data was collected by note taking and recording which was later transcribed. The researcher’s role was that of the passive ethnographic researcher, playing no further role in the consultation. This paper concludes that the language of the doctor cannot ‘standstill’ when the language of society is always changing (Helman, 1990: 64). In other words, the doctor’s language in this study has obviously been affected by the language used in Australian society. The movement 'towards informality’ and ‘solidarity politeness’ in Australian language (Jones, 2004: 6) has entailed a shift
in the language of Australian doctors.