Language, politics, influence and regard; how representations of rural doctors and their work have advanced their political positioning in the Australian rural and remote health sector

Language, politics, influence and regard; how representations of rural doctors and their work have advanced their political positioning in the Australian rural and remote health sector Conference Paper

9th National Rural Health Conference: Standing up for Rural Health - Learning from the past - Action for the future

• Author(s): Lesley Fitzpatrick
• Published: 2007

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Abstract: This paper draws on research that explored the ways in which language has been used by Australian rural doctors to establish their identity, promote their role, and advance their political claims during the period 1990–2000. It explores the strategies that have been used in this process and considers how such activities have influenced policy and political and professional recognition, thereby shaping the structure of the Australian rural and remote health sector. The paper argues that the way language-based representations (and the agendas hidden within them) are developed and used in personal accounts, the media and in policy texts, influences the recognition and understanding of the role of the various professions and approaches to health care, and shapes the sector in ways that reflect differently valued roles and approaches to health care delivery.

• Urls: http://www.ruralhealth.org.au/9thNRHC/9thnrhc.ruralhealth.org.au/program/docs/papers/fitzpatrick_C4.pdf
• Publisher Location: Albury, NSW