Research Of Doctor-patient Relationship With The Perspective Of Symbolic Interactionism

The doctor-patient relationship is the interpersonal relationship between doctor-based group and patient-centered group, and is established in the course of treating disease. It is a multi-disciplinary field:Public health focus on the the health care system and hospital management; Health jurisprudence focus on the rights and obligations of medical institutions, doctors and patients; Medical ethics focus on how to improve the professional ethics of medical staff; and Medical psychology focus on doctor-patient communication mode and communication skills.The doctor-patient relationship is the focus of common concern from all walks of life. It is not only a medical problem, but also a social problem. However, in the previous studies, the theory and methods of sociology are less been used. So it is necessary to make a probing analysis of the status quo of doctor-patient relationship from the perspective of sociology, including the characteristics, problems and causes, and then put forward the rationalization proposal of building a harmonious doctor-patient interpersonal relationship.Symbolic interactionism is one of the main schools of contemporary sociology. It is an important part of social interaction theory. This theory emphasizes that, the society is a dynamic entity, and is formed through constant communication and interaction process. Sociologists use symbolic interactionism to study the social behavior and interpersonal relationship. The doctor-patient relationship is an important part of social relationships. On the micro level, it is a face-to-face interaction between medical staff and patients. This study takes the sociological study of doctor-patient relationship in our country as the background, and carry out the investigation and research of doctor-patient interaction in one Grade A hospital of Nanjing, with the perspective of symbolic interactionism.To understand the current cognitive situation of doctor-patient interaction in this hospital,610medical staffs and710patients or family members are involved by questionnaire survey in random way, and in-depth interviews are carry out with some members. At the same time, investigator conducted a retrospective analysis of the802success cases and529failure cases in the last three years, in order to find the factors influencing the doctor-patient interactive relationship.The study shows that, plenty of good verbal and nonverbal symbolic communication can develop and maintain the harmonious doctor-patient relationship. At present, the main problems of the doctor-patient interaction includes:improper language and attitude, the lack of informed consent, communication initiative and time. As a kind of social theories focus on the individual behavior, Symbolic interactionism provides another perspective of building a harmonious doctor-patient relationship:both doctors and patients should understand each other’s social role, make full use of verbal and nonverbal symbols, and communicate in a two-way interaction, in order to promote the emotional communication and improve the trust of each other. Gradually, the doctor-patient relationship will be more harmonious.