The effect of physician’s gender on the opening phase in Iranian Medical interactions

According to Woods (2006), an ideal sequence of medical interaction might consist of opening, complaint, examination or test, diagnosis, treatment or advice and closing. Opening in medical interactions is an important phase for physicians and patients to communicate effectively and facilitate next phases. It is the first phase of the sequencing of physician - patient interactions. This study investigated physician - patient interactions and the questions are: how is the opening phase designed in Iranian medical interactions? And whether there is any relationship between opening phase and physician‘s gender. For answering the questions, fieldwork was conducted in clinics and hospitals of Rafsanjan city in Iran. One- hundred physician- patient consultations done by ten physicians (5 male and 5 female) were audiotaped and transcribed during 2011-2012. The analyzing of the data revealed that Iranian physicians applied almost the same opening phase; it proposed that greeting, physician‘s opening question or patient’s opening statement usually happen in opening phase of consultations. Physician’s opening question in male and female is respectively 29%, 32% and patient’s opening statement is respectively 21%, 18%. The finding showed that male physicians tend more to open their consultations by patient’s opening statement than female ones and female physicians tend more to open their consultations by physician’s opening question (what’s the matter?).