Hussein Elsaghir
ENG 3010-010
Discourse Community: Pharmacy
A discourse community is a group of individuals who through different forms
of communications, reach for a common goal or standardized way of thinking. These
individuals are able to reach that common goal by communication through the sharing
of ideas, information, and even past experiences. John Swales states, “A discourse
community recruits its members by persuasion, training or relevant qualification”
(Swales 471). Pharmacists are a prime example of what Swales was referring too,
they are specialized group that follow these criteria. A pharmacist is not just the
average Joe who fills your medications, but rather a well trained professional who
builds a relationship with their patients by informing and educating them regarding
their medication. As a pre-pharmacy student, I am currently involved in a discourse
community, in which we as a group share common activities such as studying, and
achieving good grades, which will ultimately lead us to becoming a licensed
pharmacist. For example, at work I deal with interpreting different texts, and genres.
The field of pharmacy requires time, trust, and determination that should be taken into
consideration before embarking on the path to becoming a pharmacist.
To gain a true perspective of what it meant to be a pharmacist, I was able to
interview Dr. Fatima Hamade, a licensed Pharmacist. Being able to interview a
professional in the field of pharmacy allowed me to obtain a real perspective of what
it is like to be working in the field. This interview was able to help focus my sights
and increase my motivation towards becoming a pharmacist. According to Dr.
Hamade, the major type of research done as a pharmacist is regarding medication. For
example, pharmacists research the difference between brand and generic drugs and
their effect on the patient taking them. This is a key idea because a certain brand for a
medication may work better for one individual rather than other. This is an important
factor regarding the patients, because certain patients may gain the side effects of the
medications due to the inactive ingredients that they are composed of. Along with the
type of research done, Dr. Hamade also explained the different forms of texts that are
used when working in the field, such as prescriptions and flu-shot forms. Swales
claimed that recruiting professionals in the field creates a discourse community and
having a trained pharmacist best serves his idea pertaining to discourse communities.
The last three years of my life has really shown my determination to enter the
field of pharmacy. I am currently enrolled in my third year of studying pre-pharmacy,
and entering my second year as a certified Pharmacy technician working at Rite Aid
Pharmacy. Being able to work in the field I study and having a hands on approach has
been a tremendous help in reaching my ultimate goal of becoming a licensed
pharmacist. With many colleges having great Pharmacy programs, my goal is to
attend and graduate from The Eugene Applebaum College of Pharmacy and Health
Sciences earning a Doctorate of Pharmacy. During the interview, I asked Dr. Hamade
how was the requirements changed pertaining to pharmacy? She replied, “ Pharmacy
has become a very competitive field, and the road is filled with rigorous study and
commitment.” The road to becoming a pharmacist may seem to be superimposed with
hardships, but the benefits in areas of communication and interpretation are abundant.
Lexis is a key characteristic of what makes up a discourse community. Lexis
the choice of vocabulary, or jargon a discourse community uses for members to
communicate with one another. As a pharmacist or even a pharmacy technician like
myself the use of vocabulary and grammar is a factor that separates our discourse
community from another. The use of specific terminology or abbreviations allows for
a better workflow and clearer form of communication among my fellow co-workers
and I. A SIG which mean “Latin Signa” or in laymen’s term “label”, is a form of lexis
which creates a bridge of communication between the pharmacy and the physician. A
typical prescription will have a SIG like “T, 1,TA, PO, QID”, now this may seem like
chicken scratch to the patient, but as a member of this discourse community it allows
us to interpret it as “take one tablet by mouth four times daily”. There are many other
abbreviation or terms that a pharmacist should be familiar with as well. This
specialized form of communication allows for a clear understanding when typing the
SIG on the label of a prescription. Having the correct SIG is very crucial because it
gives the patient instructions pertaining to their medications in order to control
dosage, abuse, and minimize the chance of side effects.
“A discourse community utilizes and hence possesses one or more genres in
the communicative furtherance of its aims” (Swales 472). Genres can be altered or
formatted to fit any occasion some more formal than others. When entering this
discourse community, a more formal and professional transition is needed. This
transition is necessary because when dealing with emails, prescriptions, and
confidential patient information we must be formal and precise to minimize the
margin of error when communicating this information to and from a physician’s
office. As a student, I am in a discourse community among my peers where formality
is not as stressed, where we can exchange information without the need for a formal
arrangement such as a text message.
As a pharmacist, the documentation and research done follows a strict style
known as the American Medical Association (AMA). This style of citation is used in
the field of medicine because it has a scientific approach; it sets up guidelines to
simply the intake of tables, charts, and general information regarding the field of
medicine, and in this case pharmacy. A major area of study and research within the
field of pharmacy is the fight against diabetes. As a technician I see the results and
how patients who are diagnosed with diabetes struggle to survive, and how their
relationship with their pharmacist motivate them to continue on fighting and
hopefully one day beating this life threatening disease.
As a pre-pharmacy student and a certified pharmacy technician I am involved
in two different discourse communities that will aid in my final goal of becoming a
licensed pharmacist. Through the use of genres, lexis, and research I will be able to
achieve this goal. The transition might be difficult, but being able to join a community
of specialized professionals in the field of pharmacy and offer my help in the
promotion of positive health is well worth the hardships.
Citations:
1. Swales, John. “The Concept of Discourse Community.” Writing
About Writing. Ed.Wardle and Doug Down. Boston: Bedford/St.
Martin’s, 2011. 471-472. Accessed September 20, 2012
2. Hamade, Fatima. Rite Aid Pharmacy, Taylor, MI, Personal Interview
14 September. 2012
3. Dictionary. Website. Available at
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/sig. Accessed September 22,
2012