POWER SHARING IN MEDICAL CONSULTATIONS

Abstract

Objective: To examine the management of power by doctors in medical consultations. The power is defined here as a dialogic, egalitarian, and patient-centered.

Study Design: Qualitative study.

Place and Duration of Study: Out-patient departments of Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan, from Nov 2019 for
two weeks.

Methodology: The data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations from outpatient departments of Mayo Hospital. Bourdieu's Social Practice Theory and Fairclough’s theory of Power and Language were used as a theoretical framework in the community of practice, for the interpretation of the qualitative data sets.

Results: The interpretations of relational power by doctors and patients surface three themes: Power, Power
and Solidarity, and Solidarity. Although power-sharing is the modern rhetoric, it is hardly conceptualized in the
selected hospital.

Conclusion: With a proliferation of patient-centered approach of the medical profession, power-sharing with
patients might perpetuate dissatisfaction among the participants.