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Published on: February 16, 2011
Identity and relationship frames in medical leadership communication
Leena Mikkola1, Heli Parviainen2
1Department of Language and Communication Studies, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland.
Purpose:
A frame is an interpretive scheme of meanings that guide participants' interpretations of social interaction and their actions in social situations (Goffman, 1974). By identifying early-career physicians' identity and relationship frames, this study aims to produce information about socially constructed ways to interpret leadership communication in a medical context.
Design/Methodology/Approach:
The data consist of essays written by young physicians (n = 225) during their specialization training and workplace learning period. The analysis was conducted applying constructive grounded theory.
Findings:
Three identity and relationship frames were identified: the expertise frame, the collegial frame and the system frame. These frames arranged the meanings of being a physician in a leader-follower relationship differently.
Originality/Value:
The findings suggest that identity questions discussed recently in medical leadership studies can be partly answered with being aware of and understanding socially constructed and somewhat contradictory frames.
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