Physicians on the move: practices for shaping a professional medical persona in a second language

Numerous healthcare studies emphasize the impact of linguistic background on physician-patient communication. Cultivating a credible professional image through proficient communication skills is essential for promoting patient compliance and achieving positive treatment outcomes. Language proficiency influences a physician's sense of self and ability to provide quality healthcare. This study aimed to explore the practices used by physicians trained in their country of birth to develop a trustworthy professional identity in a second language.

The data included transcripts from video-recorded consultations (n = 40, total duration t∼22.5 h) conducted in Norwegian outpatient clinics (n = 6). These consultations involved interactions between Polish physicians (n = 8) and Norwegian patients. Using observational and qualitative analyses, the study focused on identifying recurrent phenomena in the physicians' utterances. To contextualize the findings, qualitative analysis was conducted with the Corpus of Doctor-Patient Conversations from Akershus University Hospital (Ahus). Additionally, insights were obtained from audio-recorded interviews with two participating physicians and two other Polish physicians practicing in France. The data sets complemented each other to demonstrate the generalizability of key communication aspects that physicians should consider when using second-language skills with patients and colleagues.

Foreign physicians employ various practices to address the diverse and intricate aspects of medical conversations. Establishing a professional stance involves steering the consultation, highlighting one's expertise and humor, and incorporating explanations from the native language. Effective communication is achieved through the substitution of medical terminology with everyday words as well as the use of figurative language, paraphrasing, and repetition.