Annals of Family Medicine
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

Annals of Family Medicine 4:460-462 (2006)
© 2006 Annals of Family Medicine, Inc.
doi: 10.1370/afm.572
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow In Brief
Right arrow TRACK Discussion: Submit a Comment
Right arrow TRACK Discussion: View Comments
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when TRACK Comments are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Candib, L. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Candib, L. M.

Sí, Doctora

Lucy M. Candib, MD

Department of Family Medicine and Community Health, University of Massachusetts Medical School and Family Health Center of Worcester, Worcester, Mass

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR: Lucy M. Candib, MD, Family Health Center of Worcester, 26 Queen St., Worcester, MA 01610, lcandib{at}massmed.edu

Experience with seeing Latino patients at a community health center has taught a family physician that the patient’s response, "Sí, doctora [Yes, doctor]" can have multiple meanings. Patients might say "yes" during consultations to avoid conflict or to defer to the more powerful doctor. The clinician’s understanding had to move to deeper levels when a visiting Ecuadorian friend learning English used "yes" multiple times in conversation, but not as an indicator of agreement or even comprehension. The family doctor realized that she could not assume what the patient implies by this simple expression. The apparent agreement of "yes" requires more. When a patient says, "Sí, doctora," the doctor must probe with more questions and listen hard to the answers.

Key Words: Communication • cross-cultrual comparison • physician-patient relations




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Ann Fam MedHome page
K. C. Stange
In This Issue: Capacity for Caring and Generating New Knowledge
Ann. Fam. Med, September 1, 2006; 4(5): 386 - 388.
[Full Text] [PDF]

TRACK Comments:

Read all TRACK Comments

We have much to learn about non-western communication styles.
Sylvie Lo Fo Wong
Annals of Family Medicine, 6 Oct 2006 [Full text]
Yes
Iona Heath
Annals of Family Medicine, 9 Oct 2006 [Full text]
Cultural Humility and Mutual Influence
Kim Marvel
Annals of Family Medicine, 11 Nov 2006 [Full text]
A Cross-Cultural Phenomenon
Melissa Quiros
Annals of Family Medicine, 24 Nov 2006 [Full text]

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2006 by the Annals of Family Medicine.