Interaction goals in the primary care medical interview

Area of Science:

• Nursing Practice
• Communication in Healthcare
• Primary Care

Background:

• Primary care medical interviews are crucial for patient care.
• Communication patterns in these interviews can become habitual and suboptimal.
• Understanding nurse practitioners' (NPs) communication goals is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the instrumental, relational, and self-presentational goals NPs pursue during patient interactions.
• To analyze the specific sub-goals within these broader categories in primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• A survey was distributed to 103 nurse practitioners (NPs) across various specialties.
• A content analysis was performed on 590 open-ended goal statements provided by the NPs.

Main Results:

• Seven instrumental goals were identified, including information gathering, treatment planning, and resource management.
• Four relational goals emerged, such as relationship-building and anxiety management.
• Three self-presentational goals were observed: demonstrating expertise, professionalism, and compassion.

Conclusions:

• Primary care interviews involve multiple, often implicit, NP goals.
• Training NPs to recognize these communication goals can improve interaction effectiveness.
• A goal-oriented approach can lead to more efficient and satisfying patient-provider encounters.