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Structuring times and activities in the oncology visit

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  • Sterponi, Laura
  • Zucchermaglio, Cristina
  • Fatigante, Marilena
  • Alby, Francesca

Abstract

In this paper we examine how doctor and patient coordinate actions in interaction towards the smooth accomplishment of the medical visit. Such coordination entails primarily the management of time and praxis, i.e. the apportionment of time to the tasks to be completed during the visit; and it is not an easy enterprise, for a number of reasons: 1) the tasks to be carried out during the visit are not familiar in equal measure to doctor and patient; 2) the extent of attention to be devoted to each task cannot be fully determined in advance but requires ongoing judgment and calibration; 3) generally, the timeframe of the visit is relatively limited. Our ethnographic and conversation analytic study of oncological visits shows that doctor and patient rely on a range of semiotic resources to achieve mutual understanding and coordinated actions. In particular, our analysis has identified textual artifacts and metapragmatic utterances as key semiotic components in the coordination and negotiation of the temporal trajectories and courses of actions that constitute and traverse the oncology visit.

Suggested Citation

  • Sterponi, Laura & Zucchermaglio, Cristina & Fatigante, Marilena & Alby, Francesca, 2019. "Structuring times and activities in the oncology visit," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 211-222.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:228:y:2019:i:c:p:211-222
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.03.036
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Del Vecchio Good, Mary-Jo & Munakata, Tseunetsugu & Kobayashi, Yasuki & Mattingly, Cheryl & Good, Byron J., 1994. "Oncology and narrative time," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 38(6), pages 855-862, March.
    2. Robinson, Jeffrey D. & Heritage, John, 2005. "The structure of patients' presenting concerns: the completion relevance of current symptoms," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 61(2), pages 481-493, July.
    3. Robinson, Jeffrey D., 2001. "Closing medical encounters: two physician practices and their implications for the expression of patients' unstated concerns," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 53(5), pages 639-656, September.
    4. Like, Robert & Zyzanski, Stephen J., 1987. "Patient satisfaction with the clinical encounter: Social psychological determinants," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 24(4), pages 351-357, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Petersson, Jesper & Backman, Christel, 2022. "Patient-accessible online health records: Reconfigurations of clinical rhythms and doctors’ front- and backstage spaces," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 292(C).
    2. Fatigante, Marilena & Heritage, John & Alby, Francesca & Zucchermaglio, Cristina, 2020. "Presenting treatment options in breast cancer consultations: Advice and consent in Italian medical care," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 266(C).
    3. Caronia, Letizia & Saglietti, Marzia & Chieregato, Arturo, 2020. "Challenging the interprofessional epistemic boundaries: The practices of informing in nurse-physician interaction," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 246(C).

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