Taylor Ritter

Comp 2
Genre Analysis

My initial thoughts on genre were, as Devitt said, based on the container

model, where genre was seen as a constructed form that we put content into,
rather than an integration of the two. Devitt stated that Our reconception will
require releasing old notions of genre as form and text type and embracing new
notions of genre as dynamic patterning of human experience, as one of the
concepts that enable us to construct our writing world. (Devitt, 1993) I took this
statement of Devitts as a way to say that genres are created through the
recognition of repeating patterns and circumstances within discourse communities.
After reading her version of what genre is I started to think about the various genres
that are present in the world of my future career, Physical Therapy. Within the
discourse community of physical therapists there are commonly stated goals that
are being pushed towards by the use of genres. The American Physical Therapy
Association (APTA) has stated that their vision is Transforming society by
optimizing movement to improve the human experience. (APTA, 2013) I believe
that the genre of patient in-take forms, that I will be discussing today, is a great
example of how the physical therapy discourse community is trying to accomplish
this goal. The genre of in-take forms work for physical therapists because they
follow a basic format that allows them to quickly get to the root of a patients
problem, while also allowing different specificities depending on the clinicians
preferences. This said specificity will be seen through my analysis of three versions
of the same genre type.

My first text-type of the in-take form genre comes from Eugene Physical
Therapy LLC : Orthopedic Sport Spine. (Appendix A) This specific in-take form is
quite detailed, with there actually being two cores to the questionnaire. The first
part is pretty standard information such as, name, date of birth, past surgeries, and
current medications. With this being a physical therapy in-take form specifically
there are a few questions that usually only people in this type of discourse
community would need to know, such as the distinct body part that is injured, and
the rating of the pain due to this issue. In the second part of the form they go into
even greater detail and break down the questions to accommodate for the bodys
various extremities, and the different activities that you can or cant perform
comfortably due to your injury. They ask for a pain level a second time, and then
ask for more detailed contact information. Towards the final parts of the form they
ask for insurance information, and they ask for consent twice, the first is for consent
of therapy, and the second is concerning financial responsibility. That is the basic
form, however throughout the form they ask a noticeable amount of questions
about whether the injury was sustained through a work related incident, or motor
accident of some sort; this hints that they deal with a lot of cases involving lawyers
or lawsuits. These questions about lawyers and lawsuits might appeal to a certain
person seeking a specific experience due to their varying circumstances. I believe
that this in-take form does adequately serve the discourse community of physical
therapists in their goal of improving mobility for an easier life by asking detailed
questions about how your injury in affecting your everyday life. (Eugene Physical
Therapy , n.d.)
The second in-take form comes from Function First Physical Therapy.
(Appendix B) They state their goals as creating an open and honest relationship

with their clients from the start of treatment. When it comes to the in-take form it
has a very simple but effective layout. They ask for your basic information,
immediately followed by insurance information, and they make sure you are aware
of your financial responsibility. They then go on to ask questions regarding your
medical history, along with the actual goals that you have for taking physical
therapy. They end the form with asking for billing information, and notifying you of
their cancellation policy. This form doesnt go into extreme detail, but they hit the
basic points that a physical therapist needs to know before they can start treatment
on you. With this in-take form they use a basic formula to try and achieve their goal
of figuring out how to better their patients mobility. (Function First Physical
Therapy, n.d.)
My final in-take form is from Ithaca College (Appendix C) who are specific with
their audience, but vague in their questioning. They again ask for your basic
information, past medical history, pain sensation, goals for therapy, and finally
consent. The form is very short, only being one page in length. What is interesting
about this form in particular is the area where they ask for a student identification
number. Ithaca College has a physical therapy department that is available
specifically to Ithaca students, faculty, and family members of students and staff for
free. This is a very strict audience target to whom the physical therapists can
perform treatment on, which may be a reason for the less than detailed in-take
form. Ithaca is specific in their goals only for their currently studying physical
therapists, and not for their actual clinic itself. Could it be that these physical
therapists dont ask as many questions, or have as structured goals as other clinics
because its free? (Ithaca College, n.d.)

When comparing the forms together you start to get a more implied picture
of what the clinicians goals really are. With all of the forms you get the general idea
that a physical therapist will not perform treatment on you without basic knowledge
of trivial things such as your name. They also need a medical history, and your
reasoning for seeking a physical therapist in the first place. Even within these
similarities however there are differences that come from the varying levels of
specificity. For example with Appendix C they ask the absolute bare minimum of
information from you, while with the Appendix A they are extremely detailed, even
asking you certain things twice. It could be inferred that the reason Appendix C is
not as detailed in its questioning is because it has a specific audience that doesnt
have to necessarily pay for its services. This might imply that practices that actually
have patients paying for their services provide more detail and concern because
they know their patients are expecting some sort of return for their payments. This
seems like it might go against the stated goal of physical therapists which is doing
their best to improve mobility for patients always, and not just when they are
paying. The differences of the layouts are quite apparent as well. Appendix A had a
nice looking layout that seemed to have time and effort put into its look, while with
Appendix B it seemed quite simple, with nothing too fancy in its design, even with
this lack of uniqueness however Appendix B still asks the necessary information.
The layout of an in-take form is important because the nicer the presented
information looks, the easier it is to follow, and the easier it is to get across the
appropriate details. Even with these slight differences throughout however, all the
forms still have the same basic goal in mind, which is learning what the clinicians
think is an adequate amount of information needed in order to treat a patient.

The genre of in-take forms is interesting because they are flexible in terms of
detail, but quite rigid in terms of basic content. Most in-take forms have a core
template that will always be there, however they are then taken by people like
physical therapists and tweaked and specified to their liking, until they feel they
have created a form that will allow them the chance to properly achieve the goals
that have been set up by their discourse community. This specific genre is
successful because it is able to be utilized by people outside of a discourse
community, while also being helpful for the people within the community by giving
them useful information about how to help their clients achieve a greater level of
mobility. The genre itself can be taken advantage of by people wishing to only care
about the minimum details, but the patients are in the end receiving some
semblance of treatment for their ailments. Like Devitt said genres come about due
to recurring situations within communities, and in this case the community of
physical therapists saw the need to form a genre that gave them a way to know a
patients basic information, and in the cases of insurance ability to pay, before even
seeing them. (Devitt, 1993) In the end a genres purpose is to adequately deal with
a recurring situation, and when it comes to in-take forms they do this in a successful
manner.

Work Cited
- Devitt, A. (1993). Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old Concept.
College Composition and Communication, 44(4), 573-586.
- APTA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- Eugene Physical Therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
- Ithaca College. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.

- Welcome to Function First Physical Therapy, P.C.'s Website. (n.d.). Retrieved

September 29, 2015.

Appendices
Appendix A : file:///C:/Users/My%20Laptop/Documents/NewPatientPaperwork.pdf
Appendix B : http://functionfirstpt.com/files/pdf/patient_intake.pdf
Appendix C :
http://www.ithaca.edu/hshp/clinics/otptclinic/docs/patient_forms/patient_intake_form
/