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Abstract
Doctor-patient interactions have been studied using differing approaches. None, however, encompassed the broad range of communicative behaviors simultaneously within an interaction. The goal of this study was to assess the communicative effectiveness of doctor-patient interactions qualitatively using a pragmatics approach. Fourteen family practice residents and 70 of their patients (five for each resident) were rated using the Pmtting pragmatic protocol, designed to evaluate 30 communicative behaviors simultaneously. Nearly all of the ratings for the residents and the patients were appropriate (95% for the residents and 93% for the patients). Those behaviors rated inappropriate were analyzed for potential information about the communicative interaction. Not all of the 30 behaviors evaluated by the Pmtting pragmatic protocol were shown to be useful in the evaluation of communicative effectiveness in this context. However, some behaviors not rated by the protocol appear to be of importance for consideration. Implications for resident education are noted.