Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Company Profile: New Hope Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia has had magnet status for five
years and counting. It has more than 200 pediatric experts on staff with a wide array of specialties
including oncology, cardiology, and gastroenterology. It has family-centered care at the heart of its
culture. At every opportunity, New Hope endeavors to provide the most advanced, safest and
compassionate care for our patients and those with them on the journey toward getting well. New
frontiers in care delivery are explored daily.
Medical Staff: Psychiatrist, Pediatric Nurse, Nurse Practitioner, Nurse Management, Medical Social
Worker
Moves for Company Profile: I took “magnet status for five years and counting” from my
interviewee when she described her hospital to show its credibility. I tweaked my moves to show
“family-centered care” is important. I also made that move because genre 1 and genre 2 are pushing
for a patient + family outlet.
Textual Genre #1: Endorsement [business memo form]
Rhetorical Situation Behind Textual Genre #1:
● Context/Background Info: Parents have verbalized interest in a cancer support group.
They want an outlet for a close support system with other families to find ways to handle
chronic illness. Barbara Underwood, the psychiatrist asks Mr. Davis who is the head of the
Patient Services Committee for his approval to endorse the support group.
● Exigence: Provide an outlet to families/ draw more people to the hospital
● Writer: Psychiatrist
● Primary/Intended Audience: Head of the Patient Services Committee
● Secondary/Peripheral Audience: Other committee members
● Author’s Purpose/Goal: An endorsement for support group
To: Ed Davis
From: Dr. Underwood
Subject: Inquiry for Support Group
Date: 12/13/18
I understand you are the head of the Patient Services Committee. I am writing to request an
endorsement for a cancer support group for patients and parents.
There are several reasons why I believe a support group would be a great addition to the hospital.
Firstly, parents have verbalized their interest in participating in a support group. Since family
centered care is our focus, this is huge. It would provide an outlet for them to have supportive
relationships with other patients and parents to discuss their stories. I believe if we continue to
maintain the importance of family care in our hospital that it will create lasting effects.
In addition, several colleagues have expressed their desire to help guide discussions that provide
coping strategies and ways to handle chronic illness. I also am willing to oversee the logistical side of
it. My thought was to hold the support group once a week on Thursday morning from 10-11 a.m.
However, I am flexible to discuss other times if it conflicts with another event.
I hope you will approve this request to provide patients and their parents an outlet to cope with
chronic illness. My colleague Brenda Clemmer is a nurse manager who created a flier (attached down
below) if the support group gets approved. I eagerly anticipate a response by Friday, December 7th.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Barbara Underwood
Service: Psychiatrist
I am aware that you are in charge of the Ethics Committee. I am writing to inform you of a situation
that I recently encountered. There is currently a patient in the pediatric unit that I am caring for who
is severely ill. The patient was admitted to my unit on the third floor on pediatric med surg on
November 18th. He has been experiencing shortness of breath, chest pain, severe wheezing, and a
fever over 101. The parents of the patient have denied he is in pain and refuse the nurses to give
medication. This is unethical as the patient is progressively getting more ill.
It is a sticky situation because as the caregiver I want the patient to be comfortable. When it is in
direct opposition to what the parent wants, how do I handle that? I would like your committee to
review this situation as soon as possible. I plan to address this with my fellow colleagues as well.
Thank you for your time and comments.
Sincerely,
Liz Adam
Metacognitive “Moves” I made for Textual Genre #3
The genre is a call to action email because it cuts to the chase instead of stringing the news along. I
changed the subject line from “Patient’s Health Status” to “Ethical Dilemma” because the first did
not exude as much urgency and the latter communicates a call to action which is the genre. I
specifically said, “child that I am caring for” because it is a credible source. Another move I made
was not mentioning the patient’s name because it is confidential. Adhering to HIPAA (Health
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996) laws is a huge part of the health care
provider’s job which protects individual’s health information. The medical social worker adheres to
HIPAA as well so there is no need to explain. It did not work to say, “I cannot disclose further
information” since both employees deal with these situations there is a mutual understanding. For
the unit, I chose Pediatric med surg because they treat patients with any medical or surgical problem.
There is no law regarding this situation that led to my moves. It is subjective where the nurse feels
obligated because she is the patient’s advocate. Another move I made was asking the question,
“How do I handle that?” because the nurse wants to find out what to do in future instances.
In addition, instead of reaching out to the Patient Services Committee, I emailed the medical social
worker since I felt they were a better resource. They “provide valuable social services to patients
who are in the midst of challenging medical issues.” In my free write I wrote, “Nurses deal with a lot
of emotional stress in their job. I wanted to show the emotional involvement that takes place in the
hospital. I made a move showing she is the patient’s advocate and voice in this situation by saying,
“This is unethical as the patient is getting progressively more ill.” I wanted to show the nurse is
distressed and affected by her patient’s status. “As soon as possible” stresses the urgency of the
email.
Textual Genre #4: Individualized Patient Care Plan
10:00 P.M.
Alex Smith 8 year-old male
Burn on right and lower extremities
Pt resting comfortably in bed. Mother at the bedside. VSS. Afebrile. No signs or symptoms of
discomfort. PIV infusing w/o difficulty. Burn dressings clean, dry, and intact. Pt complains of
5/10 pain. Tylenol and Motrin administered x1. NPO at midnight for dressing change w/sedation
in am. RLE elevated. Will continue to monitor.
Tracy Atkins, RN
Service: Pediatrics
Metacognitive “Moves” I made for Textual Genre #4
From my interview, I learned that 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. are the designated times to write care plans
during the night shift which is why I created one at 10:00 p.m. My interviewee also shared the
insider language in the profession so I included abbreviations they use in care plans: “Pt” (patient),
“VSS” (vital signs stable), “afebrile” (no fever), “NPO” (nothing by mouth), PIV (peripheral IV),
and “RLE” (right lower extremity). The format is concise with no excess words. The choppy and
incomplete sentences is a technique used in care plans so it is straightforward and easy to read for
doctors, med students, and other nurses.
Textual Genre #5: Condolence Message
I express my deepest condolences to you and your family at the loss of your precious child. Your
child was cared with compassion and love. I hope you may draw some comfort knowing that others
care and share in your loss. From caring for Julia, I know what a special girl she was. Please reach
out to Dr. Jones who is the head of the grievance committee. The whole hospital’s thoughts are with
you during this time.
Sincerely,
Emma Lane
Service: Physician Assistant
To: Diane_Smith@gmail.com
From: Allison.grace_Hawthorne@gmail.com
Date: February 20th, 2018
Subject: Raise Request
I am writing to request a raise. I have greatly enjoyed working at New Hope Children’s Hospital. My
service to this company has been exemplary over the last two years. I have learned a lot from my
time within the Pediatric department, and I feel I have contributed in valuable ways.
Over the past year alone, I have trained three interns. I have not missed a day of work except my
vacation time which was given to me. In addition, I served on the Patient Improvement committee
to better serve our patients. During our regular meetings, my team and I created a CAUTI (Catheter
Associated Urinary Tract Infection) bundle. It has decreased the amount of urinary tract infections
caused by a catheter resulting in greater patient comfort, satisfaction, and safety. Furthermore, it is
saving the Hospital money and resources.
Given my recent accomplishments and that my salary is below industry averages, I would like to
request a raise. I would think an appropriate raise would be 3%. I would like to discuss this with you.
I look forward to continuing my role within the hospital.
Sincerely,
Allison Hawthorne
Service: Pediatrics
Company Profile
Exigence
Writer
Purpose
Genre Identification
Genre-Specific Conventions
Rhetorical Strategies
Has the writer used various rhetorical strategies to
persuade their reader/audience in the most effective
way possible? From jargon (technical terminology), to
particular details (e.g. the specific amount of $ due for
a claim; timelines for a call to action), to
communication with internal vs. external audiences,
have you (the student) brought each genre “to life” in
realistic ways with your language-based decisions?
Organization/Structure
Mechanics + Punctuation
Focus on “Moves”
Examples of “Moves”
Interview