RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Jazz and the ‘Art’ of Medicine: Improvisation in the Medical Encounter
JF The Annals of Family Medicine
JO Ann Fam Med
FD American Academy of Family Physicians
SP 164
OP 169
DO 10.1370/afm.624
VO 5
IS 2
A1 Paul Haidet
YR 2007
UL http://www.annfammed.org/content/5/2/164.abstract
AB Improvisation is an important aspect of patient-physician communication. It is also a defining feature of jazz music performance. This essay uses examples from jazz to illustrate principles of improvisation that relate to an individual communication act (ie, building space into one’s communication), a physician’s communicative style (ie, developing one’s voice), and the communicative process of the medical encounter (ie, achieving ensemble). At all 3 levels, the traditions of jazz improvisation can inform efforts to research and teach medical interviewing by fostering a contextualized view of patient-physician communication. Annals Journal Club selection—see inside back cover or http://www.annfammed.org/AJC/.