Cameroonian Medics’ Writings: Interpretations and Attitudes

Abstract

The communicative bearing of professional writing cannot be over emphasized. While writing is certainly the most conservative medium of communication, the writings of some Cameroonian medical professionals continue to pose a problem of comprehension to patients. In this study, we explored some medical prescriptions and attitudes in order to first, find out the extent to which patients effectively interpret medical prescriptions, and second, explore their attitudes towards the nature of medical prescriptions. Data was limited to 120 randomly selected medical booklets in the city of Bamenda. 170 informants (120 patients and 50 medics) were interviewed. The results revealed a significant use of abbreviations, imperative and shortened clauses in largely slanted and blurred calligraphies. While medical practitioners and pharmacists easily interpret prescriptions, they pose a serious problem of comprehension to non-health personnel. This led us to the conclusion that unclear prescriptions, in a way, deny patients complete access to their health conditions and history.