Part of
Producing and Managing Restricted Activities: Avoidance and withholding in institutional interactionEdited by Fabienne H.G. Chevalier and John Moore
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 255] 2015
► pp. 205–237
Edited by Fabienne H.G. Chevalier and John Moore
[Pragmatics & Beyond New Series 255] 2015
► pp. 205–237
“I’ll suggest that to your doctor”
Managing interactional restrictions on treatment provision in secondary care obesity consultations
A restricted interactional practice in a specialist UK obesity clinic leaves the clinic consultant unable to refer without risk to certain recommended weight loss interventions as definite and guaranteed. This chapter draws on video-recorded clinic consultations to discuss the operation of this interactional restriction in the treatment discussion phase of the encounter. Analysis shows that the withholding of references to institutional clinic constraints constructs the restricted interactional practice in operation. Various other interactional practices are then drawn on to manage this restriction, ensuring that the tasks of the treatment discussion phase are accomplished. This incorporates the construction of particular institutional roles and normative identities for the consultant and patient. These findings add to conversation analytic understanding of healthcare consultations and of the management of interactional restrictions in institutional settings.
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Cited by
Cited by 2 other publications
Monzoni, Chiara M. & Markus Reuber
2015. Linguistic and interactional restrictions in an outpatient clinic. In Producing and Managing Restricted Activities [Pragmatics & Beyond New Series, 255], ► pp. 239 ff. 
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