Using Ethnographic Discourse Analysis to Understand Doctor-Patient Interactions in Clinical Settings

Abstract

Using ethnographic discourse analysis in an Emergency Department in Hong Kong, this study explored the features of doctor-patient interactions in a hospital setting. By audio-recording 10 patient journeys, from triage to disposition, we analyzed the complexity of turn-taking patterns in spoken interactions between patients and doctors, as well as the subsequent complexities in this communication process. In particular, we traced the flow of communication surrounding the patients’ medical conditions at different stages of their journeys (e.g., taking patient history, making diagnosis and translating medical information in a bilingual environment). Communication in this Emergency Department, as in all Emergency Departments in Hong Kong, involves repeated translation from spoken Cantonese interactions to the written English patient notes and vice versa. For this study, the ethnographic discourse analysis