Knowing patients as persons: Senior and Junior GPs explore a professional resource

Abstract

As part of a research project exploring inter-professional communication in Norwegian healthcare, junior and senior general practitioners (GPs) participated in focus group interviews regarding the medical relevance of acquiring and sharing knowledge about their patients as persons. The transcripts were interpreted using phenomenological- hermeneutical and discourse analysis. Both GP groups expressed concern over the lack of emphasis on person-oriented knowledge in the healthcare system and pointed out factors which interfere with the documentation and sharing of such knowledge. Senior GPs attributed more importance to person-related knowledge than did junior GPs while displaying considerably more verbal authority and professional independence. The seniors’ discourse was dominated by ethical considerations while juniors focused more on legal arguments. Our study documents how, with experience, GPs’ reflections and decision-making become more oriented towards solutions adapted to each patient’s life circumstances. To conceptualize expert GPs’ purposeful application of person-centered knowledge, we propose the term "situated gaze.”