The attempt to describe doctor-patient communication in Poland presented in this book may help to understand what actually happens behind the door of the doctor's office and facilitate a more conscious, and thus effective, shaping of doctor-patient relationships. Answering the question of whether and to what extent doctor-patient linguistic strategies are oriented towards the reproduction of asymmetry relations will not only allow for a better understanding of intergroup communication in institutional settings in general, but will also point to the positive and negative sides of asymmetry relations in this particular context.
EXCERPT FROM THE REVIEW
As the author writes, the relationship between doctor and patient is always asymmetrical in favour of the doctor and is a power relationship understood as 'control, or more precisely, the ability of some participants in communication to control others in terms of the content of the messages, the roles played and the relationships created'. This power is, of course, symbolic and realised in language. Doctors will find the research section most interesting, in which the author presents and analyses recordings of doctor's appointments, which they call consultations. More than one doctor will be surprised to find that this is how he or she conducts conversations with patients. The book does not give advice on how to talk to patients. But I advise you to take a look at the conclusions and results of the analysis. Karolina Stefaniak shows that communication depends on the patient's age, gender and whether the consultation takes place in a public or private clinic. According to the author, women are more active than men, ask more questions and are more likely to make their own diagnosis.
Doctor-patient communication is also different in situations where the doctor is a woman and the patient is a man, or vice versa, and even different when same-sex people are interacting. How? I suggest you take a look at the book.