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Robert Guzman Mrs. Wolcott ENC 1102 September 18, 2013 Genre Analysis for Patient Education and Counseling The medical field has become a controversial area of study in which only the people most adept to todays stress are able to succeed; however, its not mainly your ability to cope with stress but how to operate within a discourse community and utilize its genres. I have three genres from the medical field from the source: Patient Education and Counseling. These genres address their discourse community in logos, which is the ability to communicate a message through logic. Ethos, which is the ability to communicate something through credibility and authority. They also communicate through pathos, the ability to feel, sense and convey emotion. The medical field is largely dependent on the use of genres, which are very confusing at times. The definition of what a genre truly is has been controversial in the literacy world lately. When the term genre is mentioned what first comes to the mind is a category or label, for example, a science fiction, and horror or drama novel. The contemporary meaning of genre is rather more complicated than what it seems to be. Every genre out there is unique in its own way and different from all the others genres are not just forms. Genres are forms of life, ways of being. Genres shape the thoughts we form and the communications by which we interact. Genres are the familiar places we go to create intelligible communicative action with each other and the guideposts we use to explore the unfamiliar. (Devitt, Bawarshi, Reiff, 550). Genres are also utilized to address certain repeated scenarios and to get things done, a "genre is a dynamic response to and construction of recurring situation, one that changes historically and in different

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social groups, that adapts and grows as the social context changes." (Devitt, 580). For example, in a basketball game a coach may start with one strategy, but upon observing the abilities of the opposing team, he or she will change his or her strategy to match the team they are playing in order to accomplish the teams common goal winning. Discourse communities operate efficiently because they have a set of solutions, genres, which will always show them the way if trouble or stagnation from progress should arise. The definition of genre in the contemporary world is much more complex and dynamic from what it used to be in the past, it is what a discourse community is mainly built upon. The medicine field communicates through the use of logos, which is through means of reasoning or facts. My first genre Doctors attire influences perceived empathy in the patientdoctor relationship talks about how a doctors attire influences the patient doctor relationship. This genre has one graph comparing casual, suit, traditional and white coat clothes when working as a doctor; this graph illustrates that doctors who use traditional and white coat apparel get the most CARE measure score from patients rather than using casual and suit apparels. The article used this graph to compare and reason which apparel gave the best results when working with patients. My second genre The effect of communication skills training on residents physiological arousal in a breaking bad news simulated task talks about the level of arousal that residents experience when mentioning bad news to patients. This article contains pictures showing the amount of residents in waiting lists and the amount who drop out, this article also contains graphs showing the heart rate levels of residents before and after training. It shows that residents heart rate levels are usually the highest when they are about to start the training because they do not know what to expect. Through logos this article has been able to reason that

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dedicated residents who are able to go through this training will be ready in their near futures to break bad news to patients. My third genre Learning to listen: Effects of using conversational transcripts to help medical students improve their use of open questions in soliciting patient problems talks about how medical students can improve their use of open questions in soliciting patient problems. The article contains graphs and charts showing the results medical students get from patients when they use open questions in order to address a health issue or injury. The article uses logic to make a clear understanding of how the process is done for other upcoming medical students. The next appeal that my genres make is to a persons pathos. Pathos speaks to a persons emotions creating long lasting impact. My first article demonstrates that when working with patients a doctor must show that he or she cares about them and will take care of them. Without knowing how to appeal to a patients pathos the doctor will not be successful in attracting new patients, which is why doctors emphasize the use of traditional and white coat apparel. Traditional and white coat apparel appeals to patients emotions making them feel safe, which is why those apparel get the best results from patients. My second genre shows how nerve wrecking it can be to break bad news to patients fearing the worst emotional response from patients. A doctor needs to be tactful and give commiseration to patients who have suffered a grief loss in the family or bad news concerning patients health. The article gives basic training for giving consolation to patients who will at times give unexpected responses, this is an example of possible repeated rhetorical situations that might change meaning the doctors would have to change accordingly as well. My third article shows the importance of the usage of open questions to patients when they are in need or in pain. When talking to patients a doctor must be able to say questions

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regarding their psychological and biomedical problems because every patient is different. For example, if a doctor were to ask Is there anything bothering you recently? then the doctor is doing a good job because then the patient can connect on an emotional level with the doctor rather than with a robot, which makes the patient feel safe and secure. A doctor must always be cautious of what will come out of his or her mouth because the patients know their health is in their hands and doctors will always need to connect emotionally.\ Credibility is the most important factor in the medical field, without it doctors would never be successful. Ethos, the authority and credibility a doctor holds will enable the doctor to have a successful future. The three articles have more than thirty references within them, which shows the amount of credibility they have based on the amount of information they all have from different sources. The site Patient Education and Counseling is among one of the top websites that teach new and old doctors on how to best perform their jobs to get the best results from patients. The three genres used in this essay all demonstrate what to do in repeated rhetorical situations and how to adapt to new situations in the work place of a doctor. The genres reveal that in the medicine discourse community, it is important to build relationships and familiarity with your patients. It is a very social discourse community. The article Doctors attire influences perceived empathy in the patient-doctor relationship states that the doctor plays an important role for establishing the subsequent patient- doctor relationship. (Heesu Chung, 387). Patients are like genres to doctors, each patient will always be unique and different from every other patient that is why it is very important to have a clear understanding of what a genre truly is and that they are not just forms.

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Works Cited Chung, Heesu, Hyejung Lee, and Hyeyeon Lee. "Patient Education and Counseling." Doctor's Attire Influences Perceived Empathy in the Patientdoctor Relationship 89.3 (2003): 387-91. Elsevier. Science Direct, 7 Mar. 2003. Web. 19 Sept. 2013. Devitt, A.J.,(1993). Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old Concept. College Composition and Communication, Vol. 44 (4) pp.575-584 Devitt, Amy J., Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff. "Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities." 65.5 (2003): 541-557. Web. 7 Sept. 2013 Frankel, Richard M., and Feng Hwa Lu. "Patient Education and Counseling." Learning to Listen: Effects of Using Conversational Transcripts to Help Medical Students Improve Their Use of Open Questions in Soliciting Patient Problems 93.1 (2001): 48-55. Elsevier. Science Direct, 8 Sept. 2001. Web. 18 Sept. 2013. Meunier, Julie, and Darius Razavi. "Patient Education and Counseling." The Effect of Communication Skills Training on Residents Physiological Arousal in a Breaking Bad News Simulated Task 93.1 (2000): 40-47. Elsevier. Science Direct, 12 Oct. 2000. Web. 19 Sept. 2013.