What affects you? A conversation analysis of exploring emotions during reflection sessions in Dutch general practitioner training

Introduction: 

In Dutch training for general practitioners (GPs), reflection on professional practice is key to their training. Such reflection is considered beneficial for professional development, especially when it entails discussing the emotional dimension of practice experiences. In the GP context, invitations to share the emotional side of things, such as “how did that make you feel?” are considered functional; yet, they are also sometimes viewed by participants as ‘grilling’, ‘just too much’ or ‘too intimate’. Put shortly, putting emotions on the table is institutionally embedded in the GP reflection context, but not always straightforward. Thus, we ask: ‘how do teachers and GP residents invite talk about emotions in educational reflection sessions?’. 

Methods: 

In this study, we explored the Dutch phrase ‘raken, geraakt worden’ (being affected) as one interactional practice used to initiate emotion talk. We conducted a conversation analytic collection study of instances of this phenomenon based on 40 video recordings of hour-long ‘reflection sessions’ at the Dutch GP specialty training. During these sessions, approximately ten GPs in training discuss recent experiences from medical practice under supervision of one or two teachers. 

Results: 

We found that participants orientated to the relevance of ‘being affected’ as a topic for discussion. Variations of the form ‘what affects you now?’ may contribute to putting emotions on the table; they can project a stepwise exploration of the emotional dimension of an experience. The ‘what affects you now’, often done in interrogative format doing a noticing, in combination with a request, is a powerful tool to instigate transformative sequences. The form is less effective to put emotions on the table when the topic shift it initiates is not grounded in previously presented personal stakes or displayed emotion. 

Discussion: 

The study’s findings show how detailed interactional analysis of one sequentially structured practice can benefit education and contribute to theory on emotions and reflection. The mobilizing power of ‘what affects you’ can serve institutional purposes by doing topical work in relation to educational aims, while its power can also be deflated when prior talk does not project the relevance of unpacking the emotional dimension of an experience. Its interactional workings may translate to other helping contexts as well.