The syllabus and the casualty ward
A 1974 study of ‘Doctor–Patient Communication Skills’
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31858Keywords:
communicative approach, doctor–patient communication, functions, medical records, professional networksAbstract
A 1974 study of 'Doctor-Patient Communication Skills', led by Christopher Candlin, can tell us about the intellectual background of studies of professional communication and the ways theoretical frameworks are adapted to the actualities of collaboration with a funder and day-to-day work in an institutional environment. The funder was a healthcare foundation, and the aim of the study was to develop a syllabus for teaching communication to doctors coming from overseas. The study involved observation of more than 200 consultations in a casualty ward. Findings were framed in terms of a set of functions and the possible transitions between these functions, and these would guide the kinds of linguistic actions to be taught. But within this narrow and now dated framework, the team also raised a number of wider questions that are still relevant today: the idea of the consultation as a unit, networks of medical professionals, the use of frames, attention to multimodality as 'transmediation' and the crucial role of time constraints.
References
Ainsworth-Vaughan, N. (2001) The discourse of medical encounters. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen and H. Hamilton (eds) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 453–469. Oxford: Blackwell.
Auer, P. and Roberts, C. (2011) Introduction — John Gumperz and the indexicality of language. Text & Talk 31 (4): 381–393. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2011.018
Austin, J. (1962) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bales, R. (1950) A set of categories for the analysis of small group interaction. American Sociological Review 15 (2): 257–263. https://doi.org/10.2307/2086790
Bales, R., Strodtbeck, F., Mills, T. and Rosenborough, M. (1951) Channels of communication in small groups. American Sociological Review 16 (4): 461–468. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088276
Breen, M. (2015) Professor Christopher Candlin: An appreciation. Applied Linguistics 36 (4): 493–496. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv037
Breen, M. and Candlin, C. N. (1980) Essentials of a communicative curriculum in language teaching. Applied Linguistics 1 (2): 89–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/I.2.89
BBC News (2015) Terminally ill doctor Kate Granger’s ‘my name is’ campaign wins support. 2 February. Available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31062042.
Byrne, P. and Long, B. (1976) Doctors Talking to Patients: A Study of the Verbal Behaviour of General Practitioners Consulting in Their Surgeries. London: Department of Health and Social Services.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C. and Leather, J. (1974, I–IV) Doctor–Patient Communication Skills: Working Papers 1–4. Report to the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, 4 vols in 1. Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University, Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C. and Leather, J. (1976) Doctors in casualty: Applying communicative competence to components of specialist course design. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 14 (3): 245–272. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1976.14.3.245
Candlin, C., Bruton, C., Leather, J. and Woods, E. (1977) Doctor–Patient Communication Skills [training materials]. Chelmsford, UK: Graves Medical Audiovisual Library and Medical Recording Service Foundation.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C., Leather, J. and Woods, E. (1981) Designing modular materials for communicative language learning; an example: Doctor-patient communication skills. In L. Selinker, E. Tarone and V. Hanzeli (eds) English for Academic and Technical Purposes, 105–133. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Candlin, C. and Candlin, S. (2003) Healthcare communication: A problematic site for applied linguistics research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 23: 134–154. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190503000230
Cathcart, R. L. (1989) Authentic discourse and the Survival English curriculum. TESOL Quarterly 23 (1): 105–126. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587510
Cicourel, A. (1981) Language and the structure of belief in medical communication. Studia Linguistica 35 (1–2): 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9582.1981.tb00702.x
Coulthard. M. and Ashby, M. (1975) Talking with the doctor. Journal of Communication 25 (3): 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1975.tb00616.x
Coupland, J. (2000) Small Talk. Harlow, UK: Longman.
Dudley-Evans, A. and St. John, J. (1998) Developments in ESP: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fleischman, S. (2001) Language and medicine. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen and H. Hamilton (eds) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 470–502. Oxford: Blackwell.
Garfinkel, H. (1967) Good organisational reasons for ‘bad’ clinic records. In H. Garfinkel Studies in Ethnomethodology, 186–207. Cambridge: Polity.
General Medical Council (2016) List of Registered Medical Practitioners. Available online: http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/register/search_stats.asp
Goffman, E. (1974) Frame Analysis: An Essay on the organization of Experience. New York: Harper and Row.
Gumperz, J. (1974) Linguistic anthropology in society. American Anthropologist 6 (4): 785–792. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1974.76.4.02a00040
Gumperz, J. (1982) Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
Gumperz, J., Jupp, T. and Roberts, C. (1979) Crosstalk: A Study of Cross-Cultural Communication. Background Material and Notes to Accompany the B.B.C. Film. Southall, UK: National Centre for Industrial Language Training.
Heath, C (1981) The opening sequence in doctor-patient interaction. In P. Atkinson and C. Heath (eds) Medical Work: Reality and Routines, 71–90. Farnborough, UK: Gower.
Heath, C. (1982) Preserving the consultation: Medical record cards and professional conduct. Sociology of Health & Illness 4 (1): 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11345612
Hymes, D. (1964) Introduction: Toward ethnographies of communication. American Antrhopologist 66 (6/2): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1964.66.suppl_3.02a00010
Johnson, K. (2006) Revisiting Wilkins’ Notional Syllabuses. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 16 (3): 414–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2006.00125.x
Jupp, T. and Hodlin, S. (1975) Industrial English: An Example of Theory and Practice in Functional Language Teaching. London: Heinemann.
Marshall, I. (1983) Choice of grammatical word-class without global syntactic analysis: Tagging words in the LOB corpus. Computers and the Humanities 17 (3): 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02259886
McClintock, M. (1974) The University of Lancaster: Quest for Innovation. Lancaster, UK: University of Lancaster.
McLachlan, G. (1992) A History of the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust 1940-1990. London: NPHT. Available online: http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/node/1158
Mishler, E. (1984) The Discourse of Medicine: Dialectics of Medical Interviews. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Mort, M., May, C. and Williams, T. (2003) Remote doctors and absent patients: Acting at a distance in telemedicine? Science, Technology & Human Values 28 (2): 274–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243902250907
Pettinari, C. J. (1988) Task, Talk, and Text in the Operating Room: A Study in Medical Discourse. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Roberts. C. and Sarangi, S. (1999) Hybridity in gatekeeping discourse: Issues of practical relevance for the researcher. In S. Sarangi and C. Roberts (eds) Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medical, Mediation and Management Settings, 473–504. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Sacks, H. (1992) Lectures on Conversation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sarangi, S. (2005) The conditions and consequences of professional discourse studies. Journal of Applied Linguistics 2 (3): 371–394. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v2i3.371
Sarangi, S. and Candlin, C. N. (2010) Editorial: Applied linguistics and professional practice: Mapping a future agenda. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 7 (1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.1
Schryer, C. (1993) Records as Genre. Written Communication 10 (2): 200–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088393010002003
Shuy, R. (1974) Problems of Communication in the Cross-Cultural Medical Interview. Working Papers in Sociolinguistics 19. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Lab. Available online: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED126691.pdf
Sinclair, J. and Coulthard, M. (1975) Towards an Analysis of Discourse: The English used by Teachers and Pupils. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Snow, E. and Jones, E. (2011) Immigration and the National Health Service: Putting History to the forefront. History and Policy. London: King’s College London. Available online: http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/immigration-and-the-national-health-service-putting-history-to-the-forefront
Stimson, G. and Webb, B. (1975) Going to See the Doctor: The Consultation Process in General Practice. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Tannen, D. and Wallat, C. (1987) Interactive frames and knowledge schemas in interaction: Examples from a medical examination/interview. Social Psychology Quarterly 50 (2): 205–216. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786752
Wilkins, D. (1972) Grammatical, situational, and notional syllabuses. Paper presented at the Third International Congress of Applied Linguistics, Copenhagen, 21–26 August. Available online: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED136549.pdf
Auer, P. and Roberts, C. (2011) Introduction — John Gumperz and the indexicality of language. Text & Talk 31 (4): 381–393. https://doi.org/10.1515/text.2011.018
Austin, J. (1962) How to Do Things with Words. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Bales, R. (1950) A set of categories for the analysis of small group interaction. American Sociological Review 15 (2): 257–263. https://doi.org/10.2307/2086790
Bales, R., Strodtbeck, F., Mills, T. and Rosenborough, M. (1951) Channels of communication in small groups. American Sociological Review 16 (4): 461–468. https://doi.org/10.2307/2088276
Breen, M. (2015) Professor Christopher Candlin: An appreciation. Applied Linguistics 36 (4): 493–496. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/amv037
Breen, M. and Candlin, C. N. (1980) Essentials of a communicative curriculum in language teaching. Applied Linguistics 1 (2): 89–112. https://doi.org/10.1093/applin/I.2.89
BBC News (2015) Terminally ill doctor Kate Granger’s ‘my name is’ campaign wins support. 2 February. Available online: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-31062042.
Byrne, P. and Long, B. (1976) Doctors Talking to Patients: A Study of the Verbal Behaviour of General Practitioners Consulting in Their Surgeries. London: Department of Health and Social Services.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C. and Leather, J. (1974, I–IV) Doctor–Patient Communication Skills: Working Papers 1–4. Report to the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust, 4 vols in 1. Lancaster, UK: Lancaster University, Department of Linguistics and Modern English Language.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C. and Leather, J. (1976) Doctors in casualty: Applying communicative competence to components of specialist course design. International Review of Applied Linguistics in Language Teaching 14 (3): 245–272. https://doi.org/10.1515/iral.1976.14.3.245
Candlin, C., Bruton, C., Leather, J. and Woods, E. (1977) Doctor–Patient Communication Skills [training materials]. Chelmsford, UK: Graves Medical Audiovisual Library and Medical Recording Service Foundation.
Candlin, C., Bruton, C., Leather, J. and Woods, E. (1981) Designing modular materials for communicative language learning; an example: Doctor-patient communication skills. In L. Selinker, E. Tarone and V. Hanzeli (eds) English for Academic and Technical Purposes, 105–133. Rowley, MA: Newbury House.
Candlin, C. and Candlin, S. (2003) Healthcare communication: A problematic site for applied linguistics research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics 23: 134–154. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190503000230
Cathcart, R. L. (1989) Authentic discourse and the Survival English curriculum. TESOL Quarterly 23 (1): 105–126. https://doi.org/10.2307/3587510
Cicourel, A. (1981) Language and the structure of belief in medical communication. Studia Linguistica 35 (1–2): 75–81. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9582.1981.tb00702.x
Coulthard. M. and Ashby, M. (1975) Talking with the doctor. Journal of Communication 25 (3): 140–147. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1460-2466.1975.tb00616.x
Coupland, J. (2000) Small Talk. Harlow, UK: Longman.
Dudley-Evans, A. and St. John, J. (1998) Developments in ESP: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Fleischman, S. (2001) Language and medicine. In D. Schiffrin, D. Tannen and H. Hamilton (eds) The Handbook of Discourse Analysis, 470–502. Oxford: Blackwell.
Garfinkel, H. (1967) Good organisational reasons for ‘bad’ clinic records. In H. Garfinkel Studies in Ethnomethodology, 186–207. Cambridge: Polity.
General Medical Council (2016) List of Registered Medical Practitioners. Available online: http://www.gmc-uk.org/doctors/register/search_stats.asp
Goffman, E. (1974) Frame Analysis: An Essay on the organization of Experience. New York: Harper and Row.
Gumperz, J. (1974) Linguistic anthropology in society. American Anthropologist 6 (4): 785–792. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1974.76.4.02a00040
Gumperz, J. (1982) Discourse Strategies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511611834
Gumperz, J., Jupp, T. and Roberts, C. (1979) Crosstalk: A Study of Cross-Cultural Communication. Background Material and Notes to Accompany the B.B.C. Film. Southall, UK: National Centre for Industrial Language Training.
Heath, C (1981) The opening sequence in doctor-patient interaction. In P. Atkinson and C. Heath (eds) Medical Work: Reality and Routines, 71–90. Farnborough, UK: Gower.
Heath, C. (1982) Preserving the consultation: Medical record cards and professional conduct. Sociology of Health & Illness 4 (1): 56–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9566.ep11345612
Hymes, D. (1964) Introduction: Toward ethnographies of communication. American Antrhopologist 66 (6/2): 1–34. https://doi.org/10.1525/aa.1964.66.suppl_3.02a00010
Johnson, K. (2006) Revisiting Wilkins’ Notional Syllabuses. International Journal of Applied Linguistics 16 (3): 414–418. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1473-4192.2006.00125.x
Jupp, T. and Hodlin, S. (1975) Industrial English: An Example of Theory and Practice in Functional Language Teaching. London: Heinemann.
Marshall, I. (1983) Choice of grammatical word-class without global syntactic analysis: Tagging words in the LOB corpus. Computers and the Humanities 17 (3): 139–150. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02259886
McClintock, M. (1974) The University of Lancaster: Quest for Innovation. Lancaster, UK: University of Lancaster.
McLachlan, G. (1992) A History of the Nuffield Provincial Hospitals Trust 1940-1990. London: NPHT. Available online: http://www.nuffieldtrust.org.uk/node/1158
Mishler, E. (1984) The Discourse of Medicine: Dialectics of Medical Interviews. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Mort, M., May, C. and Williams, T. (2003) Remote doctors and absent patients: Acting at a distance in telemedicine? Science, Technology & Human Values 28 (2): 274–295. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162243902250907
Pettinari, C. J. (1988) Task, Talk, and Text in the Operating Room: A Study in Medical Discourse. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
Roberts. C. and Sarangi, S. (1999) Hybridity in gatekeeping discourse: Issues of practical relevance for the researcher. In S. Sarangi and C. Roberts (eds) Talk, Work and Institutional Order: Discourse in Medical, Mediation and Management Settings, 473–504. Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter.
Sacks, H. (1992) Lectures on Conversation. Oxford: Blackwell.
Sarangi, S. (2005) The conditions and consequences of professional discourse studies. Journal of Applied Linguistics 2 (3): 371–394. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v2i3.371
Sarangi, S. and Candlin, C. N. (2010) Editorial: Applied linguistics and professional practice: Mapping a future agenda. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice 7 (1): 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.v7i1.1
Schryer, C. (1993) Records as Genre. Written Communication 10 (2): 200–234. https://doi.org/10.1177/0741088393010002003
Shuy, R. (1974) Problems of Communication in the Cross-Cultural Medical Interview. Working Papers in Sociolinguistics 19. Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Lab. Available online: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED126691.pdf
Sinclair, J. and Coulthard, M. (1975) Towards an Analysis of Discourse: The English used by Teachers and Pupils. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Snow, E. and Jones, E. (2011) Immigration and the National Health Service: Putting History to the forefront. History and Policy. London: King’s College London. Available online: http://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/immigration-and-the-national-health-service-putting-history-to-the-forefront
Stimson, G. and Webb, B. (1975) Going to See the Doctor: The Consultation Process in General Practice. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul.
Tannen, D. and Wallat, C. (1987) Interactive frames and knowledge schemas in interaction: Examples from a medical examination/interview. Social Psychology Quarterly 50 (2): 205–216. https://doi.org/10.2307/2786752
Wilkins, D. (1972) Grammatical, situational, and notional syllabuses. Paper presented at the Third International Congress of Applied Linguistics, Copenhagen, 21–26 August. Available online: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED136549.pdf
Published
2018-12-31
Issue
Section
Articles
License
Equinox Publishing Ltd.
How to Cite
Myers, G. (2018). The syllabus and the casualty ward: A 1974 study of ‘Doctor–Patient Communication Skills’. Journal of Applied Linguistics and Professional Practice, 13(1-3), 211-232. https://doi.org/10.1558/japl.31858
