Health Commun.  2021 Dec;16(2):187-196. 10.15715/kjhcom.2021.16.2.187.

The principle and methodology of close reading to improve attentive listening and empathy of physicians

• Jeoung YO
• Bak YI

• KMID: 2526431
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.15715/kjhcom.2021.16.2.187

Abstract

Background
Close reading is used in medical education to improve doctors’ listening, empathy and relationship-building ability, but no method for close reading has been suggested yet. In order to efficiently use close reading in medical education, it is essential to present concrete methods of close reading.
Methods
The development of the Close Reading methods is based on the basic principles of text interpretation, resources of knowledge in the evaluation process and the theory of variation analysis presented by Lucius-Hoene and Deppermann.
Results
The basic principles of text interpretation include data-orientedness, reconstructive attitude, prerequisites for meaningfulness, multilevel consideration, sequence analysis and contextuality, circularity and coherence, explicativity and argumentativity. As knowledge resources there is everyday knowledge, ethographic-historical knowledge, knowledge about linguistic-communicative phenomena, theoretical knowledge. Variation analysis includes substitution, deletion, permutation, insertion.
Conclusion
The basic principle of text interpretation is worth using as guidelines for text interpretation that readers of close reading should pay attention to. Knowledge resources can be used as the resources and argument for text interpretation. And the Variation analysis can be used to verify the validity of the close reading results. All of these can also be used for teachers in assessing and providing feedback to learners.

Keyword

close reading; narrative medicine; listening; empathy; medical education