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Cristopher Caez"

Wolcott"

ENC 1102-0014"

February 14, 2014"

Pediatric Sports Physicals and the Progression of Medicine Throughout Time"

Amy J. Devitt, a professor at the University of Kansas defined genre as "a

response to a recurring rhetorical situation." Through this definition we've been able to

deduce that genres are printed forms of communication that discourse communities use

for various purposes, In a research paper co-written by Devitt titled Materiality and

Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff,

determined that studying genres allows researches to learn how text plays a role in the

experience of a group. In an example, Devitt studied the legal genre of jury instruction,

here she was able to find that there was a gap between the creators of the communal

agendas and those who use them. More specifically, there was a gap between the

specialist and non-specialist."

This paper will specifically look into a genre used by pediatric physicians who are

conducting sports physicals on patients. Through the examination of the paperwork

used to record information found during the physicals we will be able to determine that

pediatric medicine is continuously progressive and inclusive meaning that medicine is

continuously evolving to both move forward in the diagnosis and treatment of health, as

well as allowing for it to include a variety of people and conditions that arise when

considering the health status of a patient."

Obtaining the Genres!

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All three genres used in this paper were obtained from the same organization,

the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). All three forms, although distributed by the

same organization, have been used at different time periods. Form 1(Appendix A) was

in use from 1997 to 2004, Form 2 (Appendix B) was in use from 2004 until 2010, and

Form 3 (Appendix C) was published in and distributed by them since 2010 and is still

used today."

All of these forms can be found through the AAP website, the first form is

relatively easy to find and is included with other forms and information, the second and

third forms are not as easy to find, as they are stored in their archives. The AAP

archives are free to search through and you can find some information and forms free of

charge, like these past forms, but research papers and AAP manuals can be obtained

through a small fee. The availability of so much information free to the public through

these archives suggests that the organization wants to show that medicine is

progressive and inclusive, this being the repeated rhetorical situation as defined by

Devitt."

Examining and Analyzing the Genres"

All three forms follow one basic format, the same font and the same basic

organizational pattern: (1) patient history, (2) physical exam, and (3) clearance form,

and the bolding at the beginning of each section and sub-sections. These are all

characteristics that all forms have in common, what has changed across the years is the

page length, section(s) added, and the expansion of the patient history questions."

Form 1 (App. A) is a two-page document that includes the three major portions

covered by AAP physical examination forms and is the most basic document out of the

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three forms. The patient history section includes 14 yes/no answer questions, 1

question where you fill in the dates of most recent immunizations, and 1 section for

women to fill out menstrual period dates and other information; at the bottom of this

section there is also an area where you can further explain "yes" answers. The physical

exam section in this form is divided into the inspection of medical portion of the

body(heart, skin, lungs, etc.) and the musculoskeletal portion (neck, back, shoulders,

etc.); here the physician acknowledges if the areas are normal/abnormal, if abnormal

they comment on the findings and initial at the right side after each inspection. The last

section of the physical exam is the clearance form, which is at the bottom of the same

page as the physical exam, here the physician acknowledges that the patient can/

cannot engage in extraneous physical activities such as sports; at the end of this

section the physician signs his name and puts their stamp in the space provided to

establish authority and approval of their decision."

Form 2 (App. B) has been expanded to three pages. The patient history section

now includes 47 yes/no answer questions, a section with three questions for women,

and a smaller section at the bottom to further explain "yes" answers. The physical exam

form is still divided into medical and musculoskeletal sections checking for normal/

abnormal findings noted with the physician's initials to the right. The clearance form

takes up its own page and has been expanded to include emergency information of the

patient such as allergies, the name of the physician and the physician's contact

information. The page containing the clearance form is split in half with both the top and

bottom containing the same information, one is sent to the school/organization the

patient is involved in and the second is kept with the physician for their records. The

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expansion of the patient history section further proves the point that medicine is

continuously progressive and inclusive as time goes by yet again proving that this form

is a genre of the pediatric discourse community."

The last form (App. C) is the longest of the three at four pages, but is also the

most complete and in-depth of all the forms. Starting with the patient history information,

the form has 52 yes/no answer questions, with a section dealing with three female

specific questions and a space provided at the bottom to further explain "yes" answers.

Unlike the other forms, the next page is not the physical exam form but instead contains

a section that covers athletes with special needs. Here information on disabilities the

patient may have are taken into consideration in relation to the extraneous physical

activity sports require. This section covers the history of the disability such as type and

date it was diagnosed as well as yes/no questions answers that cover some of the most

common disabilities such as spina bifida and visual impairments; it is also encouraged

to explain "yes" answers in two separate spaces provided on the page."

The section covered on the next page is the actual physical examination and it

still covers the basic medical and musculoskeletal areas of the body as well as noting

whether these areas are normal/abnormal, however, the physician's initials are no

longer necessary. At the bottom of this page there is a small clearance form where yet

again the physician states whether they believe the patient can/cannot participate in

sports. this section is to be signed and dated by the physician as well as provide the

address and contact information of their office. This clearance form is also duplicated on

the fourth page in larger text and is split in half with both the top and bottom containing

the same information; one copy is given to the school/organization and one is kept by

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the physician for the patient's medical record. Yet again it is clear in the last form that

the repeated rhetorical situation is that medicine is constantly progressive and inclusive,

especially in this case since a completely new section dealing with disabilities was

added into the most recent physical examination form."

Final Conclusions!

By looking at the genres from the pediatric physician discourse community we

have been able to determine that medicine is continuously evolving to include a range

of medical conditions and diagnoses as time goes on. Some of the evidence includes

the expansion of questions throughout time from 16 to 54 over the course thirteen years

and the addition of questions relating only to females and patients with specific

disabilities or needs. Medicine will only continue to evolve and include a variety of

conditions and illnesses as time goes on.

Works Cited

American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.aap.org

Devitt, A. J. (1993). Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old

Concept. College Composition And Communication, (4), 573. doi:10.2307/358391

Devitt, A. J., Bawarshi, A., & Reiff, M. (2003). Materiality and Genre in the Study

of Discourse Communities. College English, 65(5), 541-558. doi:10.2307/3594252

Cristopher Caez

Appendix A

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Appendix B

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Appendix C