2019 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Mapping Communication and the Use of English within the Practice of Medicine
| Project/Area Number |
19K00823
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| Research Institution | Hiroshima University |
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Principal Investigator |
Davies Walter 広島大学, 外国語教育研究センター, 准教授 (30448261)
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| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
Fraser Simon 広島大学, 外国語教育研究センター, 教授 (10403510)
榎田 一路 広島大学, 外国語教育研究センター, 准教授 (20268668)
達川 奎三 広島大学, 外国語教育研究センター, 教授 (00290528)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-04-01 – 2022-03-31
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| Keywords | case report / case study / discourse analysis / corpus analysis |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
2019 was a year of background research and analysis on how to integrate the new research with the results of previous Kaken research into medical English. Members of the research team presented at four different venues, three in Japan and one in the UK, discussing research from past Kaken projects and the relevance of the new research to existing materials. Consideration has been given to both written communication and spoken communication.
In terms of written communication, the research team met with senior members of the medical school to discuss the analysis of case reports and case studies. Corpus analysis and discourse analysis will be used to analyse the structuring of case reports and case studies to identify key language in them. Unlike past research, in which the focus was on medical terms, the new research will focus on key structuring phrases and grammar, complementing the past research.
In terms of spoken communication, a discussion-based interview took place between one of the researchers, three surgeons and a physician in Hiroshima to examine communication between doctors and patients. An analysis of the interview indicates that in addition to history-taking and consultations, there is a need for surgeons to be able to explain their operations to patients in detail and to discuss the results of the operations with patients and family members.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
Due to COVID-19, we have altered the strategy for the year. In our original plan, we intended to visit several medical schools and hospitals around the world to investigate the medical English that is used in countries where the first language is English, particularly in relation to notes and medical records. Instead, we are going to focus on building and analysing a corpus of medical articles. The results of this research will be used to build educational materials for students so that they can develop their writing skills,
Currently the members of the research team are very busy with placing educational materials online for general English classes and medical English materials from previous research, resulting in a delay of several months for 2020. Consequently, the majority of the research for 2020 will take place in the second half of the year.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
The research team is considering how to build an online writing course that would be appropriate for any medical student or member of staff interested in writing a case report or case study, and how it might also be used for flipped learning.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The research team was planning to travel to several international locations in March 2020. However, due to Covid 19, the team cancelled all travel plans for that month.
This year the budget will be used for computer equipment, books and journal access in accordance with the change of strategy.
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