Friday, March 30, 2012
klass
Klass's essay, "The Language of Doctors", helps us look at two sides of language in the area of medicine. Klass states 4 reasons why the language exists, and makes the connection between learning to speak the language and the concerns that such language carries with it. Explain the 4 reasons why the language exists, according to Klass, and evaluate the benefits and the drawbacks of such language. Consider both the patient's perspective and the doctor's perspective.
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Veiling the truth about how risky a procedure could be. Klass used the example from the Doctor's standpoint in her paper saying, "As you know, this is a not entirely benign procedure"
ReplyDeleteTo help maintain distance between the Dr. and the patient. Klass felt that that this would help reduce the emotional impact of the pain to the patient.
To push the blame onto the patient. I am not sure why this is done but Klass made it apparent that it occurs during her paragraph about how patients are always the subject of the verb.
"you never say that a patient's blood pressure fell or that his cardiac enzymes rose. Instead, the patient is always the subject of the verb: He dropped his pressure."
To develop a sense of closeness amongst the medical staff. Klass points out that having their own special language helps the medical staff function something like a team, and similar to a team they come closer over time.
It seems unfortunate, but this special language has only the one apparent benefit to the patient, and that is that they are subtly having the emotional blow softened for them. This benefit will not be readily apparent to the patient and will most likely not be appreciated. Even if every patient knew that this was occurring some would still not like it because they would feel like they where being treated as children. Furthermore, the idea of the patient always being the subject of the verb is strictly offensive, because it seems to imply intent as if the patient had any control over their condition.
From the point of view of the doctors this language does an exceptional job of distancing themselves from the patient. It makes it hard for a doctor to get close the patient. Dealing with people who are in pain or are ill on a daily basis it will wear out any human being. That being said doctors signed up for that burden when they entered medical school, and it seems in some sense to be a dereliction of duty to not give the patient the whole truth and assist them in working through their ailments. I think that supporting the emotional needs of the patient is part of being a doctor, and if you didn't intend to do so then you probably shouldn't have pursued this field in the first place. In one of the modern versions of the Hippocratic oath it states. "I will remember that there is art to medicine as well as science, and that warmth, sympathy, and understanding may outweigh the surgeon's knife or the chemist's drug." I think the use of a language to intentionally distance the doctor from the patient is a violation of this line of the Hippocratic oath.