DIE ROLLE MEDIZINISCHER WISSENSVERMITTLUNG IN ARZT-PATIENTEN-GESPRÄCHEN: DIE BEDEUTUNG DES ÄRZTLICHEN CODE-WECHSELS IN HAUSÄRZTLICHEN KONSULTATIONEN / THE ROLE OF MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER IN DOCTOR-PATIENT INTERACTIONS: THE IMPORTANCE OF MEDICAL CODE SWITCHING IN GENERAL PRACTITIONERS' CONSULTATIONS

Abstract

General practitioners frequently induce therapies based on findings presented by patients and obtained previously from specialists who performed clinical examinations on them. As any kind of medical treatment (including medication) is to be considered as bodily harm from a criminal legal perspective, seeking informed consent from the patient is prescribed by law in every case. Due to the extensive use of professional terminology in medical documentation, it is essential that patients are provided with detailed explanations of their clinical findings by their general practitioners, so that they can give their consent based on real understanding. For such reasons, however, effective code-switching is needed, requiring both terminological and communicative competencies. The present pilot study provides a terminological and conversation analytical examination of 10 general practitioner-patient conversations related to medical findings by clinical specialists, using concordancing and transcription software applications. The conversations took place in the practices of general practitioners in the countryside of Hungary, and involved mainly less-educated patients. The terminological and concordance analyses focused on the use of terms in medical documentation and during code-switching as well as on phraseological units introducing diagnosis disclosure. Conversation analytical methods were applied to find out which communicative functions can be fulfilled by switching code, and how code-switching is apparent in the interactions. The authors plan to extend the research to find practical solutions for the communication failures in order to establish the framework of the targeted education of medical students on disclosing diagnoses to patients, involving the practicing of terminological and communication skills at the same time.The results provide a basis for the elaboration of practical courses in which Hungarian and German medical students can practise diagnosis disclosure in peer groups

Keywords

• medical terminology
• phraseological units
• code-switching
• professional language use
• disclosing diagnoses
• conversation analysis