Using linguistic analysis to explore medicine counter assistants' communication during consultations for nonprescription medicines.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to undertake linguistic analysis of consultations between medicine counter assistants (MCAs) and customers for the supply of nonprescription medicines.


METHODS
The linguistic corpus comprised 168 recorded and transcribed consultations. Utterances were tagged as information eliciting, information or advice giving and other. The analysis focused on triads, beginning and ending with an MCA utterance (MCA(1)-->customer's response-->MCA(2)). The use of the mnemonic, WWHAM (Who for, What symptoms, How long, Any medicine tried, other Medication taken) was also analysed.


RESULTS
A total of 505 triads were identified. Of the 773 utterances, 61% were information eliciting, 13% were information giving, 14% were advice giving and 11% were "other" or unclassifiable. No consultation involved WWHAM in its entirety.


CONCLUSIONS
MCAs do not appear to have been made sufficiently aware of the ways in which their exchanges with customers during consultations for nonprescription medicines are crucially different from natural conversation.


CONCLUSIONS
In order to help customers decide upon an appropriate nonprescription medicine, the MCA has the role of both informing and advising. Training should focus on informing and advising as distinct functions, and the potential problems caused by combining them.
Garner
Mark
M
School of Language & Literature, University of Aberdeen, King's College, Aberdeen AB24 3UB, Scotland, UK.
Watson
Margaret C
MC
D003142:Communication; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services; D003376:Counseling / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D003657:Decision Making; D004347:Drug Interactions; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D004366:Nonprescription Drugs / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000458:organization & administration*; D018579:Patient Selection; D010596:Pharmacy Technicians / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology*; D024382:Professional Role / Q000523:psychology; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D011578:Psycholinguistics; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000458:organization & administration; D012606:Scotland; D013637:Tape Recording
D004366:Nonprescription Drugs