Memo to Dr.

Kohn

November 8, 2013

English 439
Minne Hall Winona, MN (507)-429-0617 reichman09@winona.edu

Memo Date: November 8, 2013 To: Dr. Kohn From: Ryan Eichman Subject: Informational Report on Technical Writing in the health care field Purpose This informational report is designed to inform how physicians incorporate technical writing in the health care field. Summary Dr. Carlos Morales, a physician in the Emergency Room at Winona Health, was interviewed as an expert on technical writing in the medical field. Throughout the interview, I asked Dr. Morales a series of questions to better understand health care technical writing. The main focus of the interview was to determine the writing collaboration effort between physicians and to identify the main audiences Dr. Morales typically wrote to. It was determined that physicians do not typically collaborate with one another. The lack of collaboration is due to the nature of the writing, most of the physicians writing is patient notes and patient discharge orders. Dr. Morales typically aims his writing towards other physicians and patients, depending on what the writing is. Introduction According to Dr. Morales, the best way to become acquainted with professional writing after academic writing is simply to practice. Dr. Morales never took special writing classes in his undergraduate studies, but he did write a lot when he went into medical school. Medical school is a transition phase for student, where the students learn to write and communicate technically. Medical schools make use of case studies to aide in the process of converting medical students into technical communicators (Bazerman 2003). The results of the interview with Dr. Morales will show how the target audience greatly alters the writing style. Results of Research The research conducted consisted of an interview with a professional in the health care

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November 8, 2013

field, emergency physician Dr. Carlos Morales, along with various sources on technical writing. Kain and Wardle offer various sub-categories of communication in Building Context: Using Activity Theory to Teach About Genre in Multi-Major Professional Communication Courses. The sub-categories will be discussed below. Subject Dr. Morales is the sole subject writer for the majority of his writing. Dr. Morales is typically the only physician to examine the patient during a visit; therefore, no other physicians are required to complete patient notes. Collaboration efforts do occur between physicians from time to time. Dr. Morales is a contributor of the American College of Emergency Physicians Newsletter, which is an excellent example of how physicians collaborate. Collaboration occurs when the writing is intended for the public or for other physicians, and the work is reviewed by physicians before being released. Motives Dr. Morales and various physicians conduct their writing to record patient information. The notes allow for a patients information to be easily accessed by a physician at a later date. Physicians use the medical history of the patient to make the best diagnosis of the patients current issue. Another form of writing is aimed at educating or enlightening the medical community. Newsletters, such as the American College of Emergency Physicians Newsletter, are used to share information between physicians. The writing is aimed at people who are highly educated and more technical language is used. Community As mentioned above, the typical audiences for Dr. Morales are physicians and patients. Patients typically receive writing in the form of discharge instructions. The discharge instructions consist of information for the patient in caring for themselves. Information about the sickness or issue is typically given to the patient as well. Documents such as newsletters are common in the medical field. The newsletters can either be tailored towards other physicians (technical language) or the general public (simple language). Writing that is prepared for non-physicians tend to use less technical language. Doreen Starke-Meyerring gives a wonderful example of how scientists convey their messages to allow for the general public to understand. Theoretical physicists coined the term string theory through metaphor: The particles are not strings or rubber bands, but their properties indicate that they behave similar to strings or rubber bands (189). The example shows how a complex theory can be understood by common people. Tools The primary tool that Dr. Morales uses to facilitate writing is software such as Cerners PowerChart. The software allows for notes to be recorded much quicker and with fewer

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November 8, 2013

errors. Dr. Morales is able to select the reason for the visit and the software will provide the necessary information to complete the patients chart. PowerChart allows for consistency in note taking, while still allowing a physician to manually type notes when an option is not found on the software. The most useful tool to Dr. Morales is his knowledge. Dr. Morales has been in the medical field for nearly 20 years. Dr. Morales attended medical school in Puerto Rico, followed by further training at Mayo Medical School. After completing all the training, Dr. Morales obtained a job as an emergency physician at Winona Health in 2002. Arguably, the skills and knowledge that Dr. Morales has acquired throughout his career is the greatest tool at his disposal. Rules Writing in the health field requires special attention to the levels of excellence of writing. Areas such as honestly and accuracy are among the most important, especially when dealing with a patients health. All levels of excellence are required, but honesty and accuracy are a must when regarding someones life. The various levels of excellence such as, clarity, conciseness, professionally appearing, and correctness are also crucial in medical field writing. Patients require instructions to be understandable and possess simple language, which is why these levels of excellence are a must. Divisions of Labor As alluded to before; there is no division of labor in the everyday writing of physicians. Dr. Morales is the one responsible for documenting everything that occurs during a patients visit, and everything that happens during the examination is recorded. Recorded items may be what the patient said when asked a question or the demeanor of the patient. Dr. Morales receives plenty of help from various levels of nurses and staff upon the patients visit, but Dr. Morales is responsible for diagnosing the patient and providing a means of treatment. Conclusion The research shows that Dr. Morales primary goal when writing is to inform physicians and patients. The notes taken are extremely important for the patients medical history, which are seen when visiting a physician at a later date. Notes provide the physicians with patient history and the patient discharge instructions provide the patient with valuable information of how to become healthy. Dr. Morales goal is to make the patients healthier, which is accomplished through the examination and diagnosis process. The information that Dr. Morales gathers is passed on to the patients medical records and the patient. Technical writing in medicine would not be possible without knowing the audience, having all the tools necessary, and collaborating with other physicians when the writing requires. References Bazerman, Charles, and David R. Russell. "Structure and Agency in Medical Case

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Presentations." Writing Selves, Writing Societies: Research from Activity Perspectives. Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearinghouse, 2003. 62-91. Web. Structure and Agency in Medical Case Presentations conveys the methods for teaching medical students. Case presentations, which are one method for teaching, are a way for medical students to demonstrate their knowledge and problem-solving abilities. The students are able to learn the skills necessary to be a competent doctor by training received through the case studies. Doctors ask the students questions about the decisions they make, and the students explain the reasons of their actions. Students eventually learn to answer a question even before a doctor asks the question. Due to the case studies, medical students become more proficient in communicating with others throughout the hospital. The communication between future doctors and staff at the hospital becomes effective and close to error free. Morales, Carlos MD. "Technical Writing in Health Care." E-mail interview. 30 Oct. 2013 Kain, Donna, and Elizabeth Wardle. Building Context: Using Activity Theory to Teach About Genre in Multi-Major Professional Communication Courses. Technical Communication Quarterly 14.2 (2005): 113-139. Academic Search Premier. Web. Oct. 21. 2013. Starke-Meyerring, Doreen. "Chapter 9: Rhetoric, Knowledge, and The Brute Facts of Nature in Science Research." Writing in Knowledge Societies. Fort Collins, CO: WAC Clearinghouse, 2011. 179-91. Web. Chapter 9 of Writing in Knowledge Societies discusses a common challenge that scientists face when writing. Scientific writing can get verbose and technical, which can make the writing difficult to read for the lay person. Scientists can use rhetoric and metonymy to help overcome the language barrier between the scientific community and the lay person. Rhetoric is the technique of persuasion used by scientists to convey claims found in research. The claims made by scientists can conceptually challenging for people outside of the science community. People tend to learn best when meaningful connections are made between new information and old information. A way to help make connections is through Metonymy. Metonymy is similar to metaphors and analogies, and used to better relay a message. Metonymy can be used, for example, when describing a quantum well as being similar to a furrow in a field. Quantum wells are a complex topic but when compared to a furrow or water well, the idea becomes easier to grasp.