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Doctor knows best? Some demythologising remarks from a discourse analytical perpective

Seminar with Florian Menz

When physicians are asked what makes their jobs strenuous, astonishingly it’s almost always communication problems they mention: Patients can’t be stopped from talking, patients do not get to the point, patients do not communicate in a clear and precise manner. These patterns, they say, make it difficult to cope with patients, all the more if the schedule is tight.
 
However, is it really the patients who are to be blamed or are there other reasons? This presentation will examine some of the preoccupations doctors have with their patients, and show empirical findings from recent research that suggest a somewhat different interpretation. 
 
Florian Menz (Dr. phil. Dr. habil.) is Professor of Applied Linguistics and Sociolinguistics at the University of Vienna (Department of Linguistics) and currently Head of Department. Combining CDA with sociological systemic approaches, his main research interests include institutional language use, with a focus on medical and business organisations, gender and power-related aspects of interaction, medical interaction in multilingual contexts, and interactional representation of pain. Additionally, since 1986 he has been working as a communication supervisor in various institutional contexts (school, hospital, court, public health organisations). Florian Menz is author (or co-author) of a dozen monographs and about 70 scientific articles. Recent research work focused on multilingual communication between health care providers and patients with a special interest on decision making and informed consent in medical encounters.

Doctor knows best? Some demythologising remarks from a discourse analytical perpective
May 02, 2016, 15:00h