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Narrative Matters in Medical Contexts across Disciplines
Edited by Franziska Gygax and Miriam A. Locher
[Studies in Narrative 20] 2015
► pp. 141–164

A genre analysis of reflective writing texts by English medical students

What role does narrative play?

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This chapter reports on the study of reflective writing texts by English medical students on a memorable encounter with a patient. The texts offer crucial information on the ways in which future doctors interpret a patient’s narrative and reflect their own situation. Drawing on genre analysis and corpus linguistics, we discuss how the texts are composed and how different genres influence their composition. While reflection is the main element of the texts, we see evidence of the genre of essay, medical case report, drama, and aspects of personal narratives. The latter is particularly evident and highlights once more the importance of narrative in medical practice.

Published online: 13 March 2015
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https://doi.org/10.1075/sin.20.08loc
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