Claiming Power in Doctor-Patient Talk

By Nancy Ainsworth-Vaughn

Book Overview

Nancy Ainsworth-Vaughn studied stories, topic control, "true" questions, and rhetorical questions in 101 medical encounters in US private-practice settings. In exceptionally lucid and accessible style, Ainsworth-Vaughn explains how power was claimed by and co-constructed for both patients and doctors (previous studies have focused upon doctors' power). The discourse varied along a continuum from interview-like talk to conversational talk. Six chapters are organized around data and include extended examples of actual talk in detailed transcription; four of these data-oriented chapters focus upon dynamic, moment-to-moment use of speech activities in emerging discourse, such as doctors' and patients' stories that co-constructed selves, and a patient's sexual rhetorical questions. Two more chapters offer non-statistical quantitative data on the frequency of questioning and sudden topic changes in relation to gender, diagnosis, and other factors. Contributing to discourse theory, Ainsworth-Vaughn significantly modifies previous definitions for topic transitions and rhetorical questions and discovers the role of storytelling in diagnosis. The final chapter provides implications for physicians and medical educators.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 019509607X
• ISBN13: 9780195096071
• Release Date: June 1998
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.1" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

for linguists

For the person who wrote the negative review, please note that even the most cursory glance at this book's cover would tell you that it was never intended to be something you would find in the self-help section at your local bookstore. For one thing, it's in the Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics series. That suggests, at a minimum, that it is an academic text, not a consumer's how-to guide for talking to your doctor. The back of the cover states that the book would be a "powerful pedagogical tool...for language classes...and...clarification of clinical issues." It states further that its topics include discourse theory, topic transitions, and co-construction. A consumer's guide on patient-doctor talk would probably have less academic terminology and subject matter and, more importantly, like this text has clearly done, state its subject matter and target audience.