@article{THESIS,
      recid = {13080},
      author = {Kuo, Yi-Ting},
      title = {Caught between the Attending Physicians and the Patients:  A Qualitative Interview Study of Junior Doctors’  Experiences of the Physician-Patient Disagreement in  Taiwan},
      publisher = {University of Chicago},
      school = {M.A.},
      address = {2024-08},
      number = {THESIS},
      abstract = {In clinical settings, physician-patient disagreements are  commonplace. These disagreements not only harm patient care  but also pose challenges to physicians. Existing literature  has illustrated the distress experienced by senior doctors  and their efforts to handle patient conflicts. However, as  junior doctors play multiple roles, including that of  students and practitioners, their experiences in such  conflicts differ from those of their senior counterparts  and are under-researched. This study aims to explore junior  doctors’ experiences of physician-patient disagreements to  understand their roles and actions in handling such  conflicts, as well as the challenges and suffering they  encounter in these situations. I conducted in-depth,  semi-structured interviews with 13 post-graduate-year (PGY)  doctors in Taiwan to understand more about their  experiences and challenges in managing physician-patient  disagreements. According to the interviews, this study  reveals three main findings. First, PGY doctors not only  oversee frontline patient care but also act as mediators  between the attending physicians and the patients during  disputes. Second, despite the constraints of the medical  hierarchy, PGY doctors possess the agency to manage  conflicts based on their medical judgment. Third, in  managing physician-patient disagreements, PGY doctors  endure three major sources of pressure: from themselves,  the attending physicians, and the patients. This research  highlights the critical sociological roles that PGY doctors  play as mediators in physician-patient disagreements. It  examines how they facilitate communication, de-escalate  conflicts, and advocate for resolutions that align with  their medical judgment. A crucial aspect of their mediation  work involves bidirectional emotional labor toward both the  attending physicians and the patients, which they are  compelled to do due to the medical hierarchy. Finally, I  propose some clinical implications derived from this study  to address junior doctors’ distress in physician-patient  disagreements and help create a more supportive working and  learning environment for them.},
      url = {http://knowledge.uchicago.edu/record/13080},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.6082/uchicago.13080},
}