language and status discussion
After listening to the interaction of Dr. Ellers and Mr. Phelps, you can understand why, among the comments on her evaluations, were comments like “snooty,” “talked down to me,” “know it all,” and “What a snot!” You struggle over the next few days about how to talk to Dr. Ellers about her manner of speaking to clients. Then you hit upon an idea. Maybe you could use a language and power matrix to explain to her how she comes across to her patients.
One of the things you noticed during the office visit is that Dr. Ellers’ projection of superiority, or power,wasn’t static. It fluctuated. At one moment her words projected power, while at other times she seemed to come across as compassionate. (Keep in mind, you have both her taking to the dog and to Mr. Phelps to contend with.) You’ve scheduled a 30-minute appointment with her as well as the medical director to talk about some ideas for how she can improve her ocvmmuncaiton. Using the power and language matrix as your framework, you write up notes with specific example from the office visit to explain to her ways she might improve. For this assignment, you will submit the notes you will follow when you meet with her. There is no set length for this assignment, but you should have enough notes to guides you through the 30-minute meeting.
“heres the transcript”
MR. PHELPS
(Point to the dog’s leg)
I’m thinking the pain it might be
in his, you know, right leg.
DR. ELLERS
I’ll take a look and see what I can
find.
MR. PHELPS
I always used to scratch his belly
and his legs would go back and
forth like he loved it.
DR. ELLERS
That’s the scratch reflex.
Perfectly normal. To you it looks
like he’s being tickled. But ti him
it’s really more like an insect on
it and it’s a scratch reflex to get
rid of the bug. I did my residency
a long time ago with a guy who did
his whole Ph.D. on the scratch
reflex. Imagine.
MR. PHELPS
Hmm.
DR. ELLERS
Yea. Now watch as I immobilize each
leg when they’re moving and see if
the pain goes away.
MR. PHELPS
(Seemingly unconvinced.)
Yea.
DR. ELLERS
See, it doesn’t. He’s whining even
when the joint is immobilized.
That’s how we isolate joint pain.
It’s not in his legs.
MR. PHELPS
I didn’t know.
DR. ELLERS
That’s how we do it.
MR. PHELPS
So it doesn’t hurt him in…
6.
DR. ELLERS
(interrupting)
Not there. Not in the other leg
either.
MR. PHELPS
It sure does hurt him somewhere.
DR. ELLERS
Not in the leg.
MR. PHELPS
A lot of pain, don’t you think? I
got him almost about the time my
wife and me got married more than
ten years ago. He’s been around a
long time.
DR. ELLERS
Roll back on your tummy for me,
fella. Approximately how long ago
did the pain begin?
MR. PHELPS
Six months maybe.
DR. ELLERS
(A little surprised.)
Oh.
MR. PHELPS
I got laid off eight and a half
months ago I thought he’d get
better on his own.
DR. ELLERS
(Proudly)
When I rolled him over and palpated
his lumbar vertebrae, he jumped
like it hurt, right?
MR. PHELPS
Golly. Lumbar?
DR. ELLERS
Back of his spine. He’s got
something. Herniated disk?
Arthritis maybe. Maybe stenosis.
The spine canal gets narrow and
impinges on the nerve. I’ve seen it
in a lot of older dogs.