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‘I must do everything to eliminate my negative attitude’

Polish general practitioners’ emotions toward patients with medically unexplained symptoms

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore Polish general practitioners’ (GPs) language of emotions used with regard to patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Specifically, the study focuses on the linguistic expressions and discursive strategies drawn upon in the communication of emotions and value judgments towards this group of patients. This study is part of the larger research project on challenges Polish GPs face while dealing with patients with MUS (cf. Czachowski et al. 2011). The investigation of 4 focus groups revealed, inter alia, that the doctors frequently use labels and metaphors, such as maruda [‘whinger’] or święta krowa [‘sacred cow’] to refer to and evaluate these patients. Such expressions communicate doctors’ negative emotions. These emotions influenced the doctors’ behaviour during the consultation: the doctors admitted to referring patients with MUS to secondary care or shortening the visit.

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to explore Polish general practitioners’ (GPs) language of emotions used with regard to patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS). Specifically, the study focuses on the linguistic expressions and discursive strategies drawn upon in the communication of emotions and value judgments towards this group of patients. This study is part of the larger research project on challenges Polish GPs face while dealing with patients with MUS (cf. Czachowski et al. 2011). The investigation of 4 focus groups revealed, inter alia, that the doctors frequently use labels and metaphors, such as maruda [‘whinger’] or święta krowa [‘sacred cow’] to refer to and evaluate these patients. Such expressions communicate doctors’ negative emotions. These emotions influenced the doctors’ behaviour during the consultation: the doctors admitted to referring patients with MUS to secondary care or shortening the visit.

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Linguistic approaches to emotion in context 1
  4. Part I. Emotion, philosophy and language
  5. Emotions 21
  6. Passion, a forgotten feeling 39
  7. Part II. Expressing and interpreting emotion
  8. On “Disgust” 73
  9. A corpus-based construction of emotion verb scales 99
  10. Patterns of allocentric emotional expressions, a contrastive study* 113
  11. The expression of emotions in conditionals 137
  12. Conceptual metaphors of anger in popularized scientific texts 159
  13. Bad feelings in context 189
  14. Part III. Doing emotion
  15. Emotions and prosodic structure 215
  16. Prosody and emotion in Greek 231
  17. Cross-cultural perception of some Japanese politeness and impoliteness expressions* 251
  18. Part IV. Pragmatic use of emotion
  19. Verbal aggressiveness or cooperative support? 279
  20. ‘I must do everything to eliminate my negative attitude’ 309
  21. Language learning and making the mundane special 331
  22. Name index 347
  23. Subject index 355
Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context
This chapter is in the book Linguistic Approaches to Emotions in Context
https://doi.org/10.1075/pbns.241.18sow

Chapters in this book

  1. Prelim pages i
  2. Table of contents v
  3. Linguistic approaches to emotion in context 1
  4. Part I. Emotion, philosophy and language
  5. Emotions 21
  6. Passion, a forgotten feeling 39
  7. Part II. Expressing and interpreting emotion
  8. On “Disgust” 73
  9. A corpus-based construction of emotion verb scales 99
  10. Patterns of allocentric emotional expressions, a contrastive study* 113
  11. The expression of emotions in conditionals 137
  12. Conceptual metaphors of anger in popularized scientific texts 159
  13. Bad feelings in context 189
  14. Part III. Doing emotion
  15. Emotions and prosodic structure 215
  16. Prosody and emotion in Greek 231
  17. Cross-cultural perception of some Japanese politeness and impoliteness expressions* 251
  18. Part IV. Pragmatic use of emotion
  19. Verbal aggressiveness or cooperative support? 279
  20. ‘I must do everything to eliminate my negative attitude’ 309
  21. Language learning and making the mundane special 331
  22. Name index 347
  23. Subject index 355
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