Language and connectedness in the medical and psychiatric interview

Patient Educ Couns. 2007 Oct;68(2):139-44. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2007.03.026. Epub 2007 May 23.

Abstract

Objective: To present and develop "connectedness" as a linguistically based concept for research and teaching of the medical and psychiatric interview; and to illustrate how this concept may be operationalized for systematic study and use.

Methods: We describe the concept and its theoretical background, illustrate it with examples, and describe a basic rating scale for connectedness that can be used for research and teaching purposes.

Results: Connectedness is grounded in established concepts from the linguistic field of discourse analysis and is applicable to the study and teaching of medical and psychiatric interviews.

Conclusions: Connectedness is worthy of further study to enhance our understanding and our teaching of the interview.

Practice implications: Connectedness is a concept directly applicable to teaching and practice.

MeSH terms

  • Attitude of Health Personnel
  • Clinical Competence
  • Communication*
  • Cooperative Behavior
  • Cues
  • Data Collection / methods
  • Education, Medical, Undergraduate / methods
  • Empathy
  • Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological / methods*
  • Interviews as Topic / methods*
  • Kinesics
  • Medical History Taking / methods*
  • Narration
  • Patient Participation / methods
  • Patient Participation / psychology
  • Physician's Role / psychology
  • Physician-Patient Relations*
  • Power, Psychological
  • Psycholinguistics
  • Semantics*
  • Set, Psychology
  • Students, Medical / psychology
  • Verbal Behavior