The Medical Interview as Rhetorical Counterpart of the Case Presentation

Abstract

Responding to the well-documented communication problems within physician-patient encounters, in this article we propose a rhetorical perspective for viewing the collective functions of medical discourse. We observe that the rhetorical features of the traditional medical interview mirror those found in the traditional case presentation. Such resemblance among genres of medical discourse signals a failure in the adjustment of communication practice to suit the unique rhetorical requirements of the physician-patient encounter. Optimal communication between physician and patient results when the medical interview is viewed as a counterpart, rather than an offshoot, of the case presentation.