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1 Cristopher Caez" Wolcott" ENC 1102-0014" February 14, 2014" Pediatric Sports Physicals and the Progression of Medicine Throughout Time" Amy J. Devitt, a professor at the University of Kansas dened genre as "a response to a recurring rhetorical situation." Through this denition we've been able to deduce that genres are printed forms of communication that discourse communities use for various purposes, In a research paper co-written by Devitt titled Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities Devitt, Anis Bawarshi, and Mary Jo Reiff, determined that studying genres allows researches to learn how text plays a role in the experience of a group. In an example, Devitt studied the legal genre of jury instruction, here she was able to nd that there was a gap between the creators of the communal agendas and those who use them. More specically, there was a gap between the specialist and non-specialist." This paper will specically look into a genre used by pediatric physicians who are conducting sports physicals on patients. Through the examination of the paperwork used to record information found during the physicals we will be able to determine that pediatric medicine is continuously progressive and inclusive meaning that medicine is continuously evolving to both move forward in the diagnosis and treatment of health, as well as allowing for it to include a variety of people and conditions that arise when considering the health status of a patient." Obtaining the Genres!

Caez !2 All three genres used in this paper were obtained from the same organization, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). All three forms, although distributed by the same organization, have been used at different time periods. Form 1(Appendix A) was in use from 1997 to 2004, Form 2 (Appendix B) was in use from 2004 until 2010, and Form 3 (Appendix C) was published in and distributed by them since 2010 and is still used today." All of these forms can be found through the AAP website, the rst form is relatively easy to nd and is included with other forms and information, the second and third forms are not as easy to nd, as they are stored in their archives. The AAP archives are free to search through and you can nd some information and forms free of charge, like these past forms, but research papers and AAP manuals can be obtained through a small fee. The availability of so much information free to the public through these archives suggests that the organization wants to show that medicine is progressive and inclusive, this being the repeated rhetorical situation as dened by Devitt." Examining and Analyzing the Genres" All three forms follow one basic format, the same font and the same basic organizational pattern: (1) patient history, (2) physical exam, and (3) clearance form, and the bolding at the beginning of each section and sub-sections. These are all characteristics that all forms have in common, what has changed across the years is the page length, section(s) added, and the expansion of the patient history questions." Form 1 (App. A) is a two-page document that includes the three major portions covered by AAP physical examination forms and is the most basic document out of the

Caez !3 three forms. The patient history section includes 14 yes/no answer questions, 1 question where you ll in the dates of most recent immunizations, and 1 section for women to ll out menstrual period dates and other information; at the bottom of this section there is also an area where you can further explain "yes" answers. The physical exam section in this form is divided into the inspection of medical portion of the body(heart, skin, lungs, etc.) and the musculoskeletal portion (neck, back, shoulders, etc.); here the physician acknowledges if the areas are normal/abnormal, if abnormal they comment on the ndings and initial at the right side after each inspection. The last section of the physical exam is the clearance form, which is at the bottom of the same page as the physical exam, here the physician acknowledges that the patient can/ cannot engage in extraneous physical activities such as sports; at the end of this section the physician signs his name and puts their stamp in the space provided to establish authority and approval of their decision." Form 2 (App. B) has been expanded to three pages. The patient history section now includes 47 yes/no answer questions, a section with three questions for women, and a smaller section at the bottom to further explain "yes" answers. The physical exam form is still divided into medical and musculoskeletal sections checking for normal/ abnormal ndings noted with the physician's initials to the right. The clearance form takes up its own page and has been expanded to include emergency information of the patient such as allergies, the name of the physician and the physician's contact information. The page containing the clearance form is split in half with both the top and bottom containing the same information, one is sent to the school/organization the patient is involved in and the second is kept with the physician for their records. The

Caez !4 expansion of the patient history section further proves the point that medicine is continuously progressive and inclusive as time goes by yet again proving that this form is a genre of the pediatric discourse community." The last form (App. C) is the longest of the three at four pages, but is also the most complete and in-depth of all the forms. Starting with the patient history information, the form has 52 yes/no answer questions, with a section dealing with three female specic questions and a space provided at the bottom to further explain "yes" answers. Unlike the other forms, the next page is not the physical exam form but instead contains a section that covers athletes with special needs. Here information on disabilities the patient may have are taken into consideration in relation to the extraneous physical activity sports require. This section covers the history of the disability such as type and date it was diagnosed as well as yes/no questions answers that cover some of the most common disabilities such as spina bida and visual impairments; it is also encouraged to explain "yes" answers in two separate spaces provided on the page." The section covered on the next page is the actual physical examination and it still covers the basic medical and musculoskeletal areas of the body as well as noting whether these areas are normal/abnormal, however, the physician's initials are no longer necessary. At the bottom of this page there is a small clearance form where yet again the physician states whether they believe the patient can/cannot participate in sports. this section is to be signed and dated by the physician as well as provide the address and contact information of their ofce. This clearance form is also duplicated on the fourth page in larger text and is split in half with both the top and bottom containing the same information; one copy is given to the school/organization and one is kept by

Caez !5 the physician for the patient's medical record. Yet again it is clear in the last form that the repeated rhetorical situation is that medicine is constantly progressive and inclusive, especially in this case since a completely new section dealing with disabilities was added into the most recent physical examination form." Final Conclusions! By looking at the genres from the pediatric physician discourse community we have been able to determine that medicine is continuously evolving to include a range of medical conditions and diagnoses as time goes on. Some of the evidence includes the expansion of questions throughout time from 16 to 54 over the course thirteen years and the addition of questions relating only to females and patients with specic disabilities or needs. Medicine will only continue to evolve and include a variety of conditions and illnesses as time goes on.

Works Cited American Academy of Pediatrics. (n.d.). American Academy of Pediatrics. Retrieved February 14, 2014, from http://www.aap.org Devitt, A. J. (1993). Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old Concept. College Composition And Communication, (4), 573. doi:10.2307/358391 Devitt, A. J., Bawarshi, A., & Reiff, M. (2003). Materiality and Genre in the Study of Discourse Communities. College English, 65(5), 541-558. doi:10.2307/3594252

Appendix A

Appendix B

Appendix C