Construing the Reader of Hospital Pharmacy Instructions: How Do Readers-in-the-Text Reflect the Writers' Views of Model Readers?

Abstract

This article examines instructions on the handling of medicines produced by a Finnish hospital pharmacy from the perspectives of two reader concepts: the model reader and the reader-in-the-text. The former comprises virtually all the medical professionals working in diverse wards, and two group interviews with hospital pharmacists are used to explore how instruction writers orientate to this versatile readership and construct model readers. The concept of "reader-in-the-text" is then used to examine 22 instruction texts from the perspective of textual interaction. The analysis reveals that the writers construct an "official" model reader, who is anyone working in healthcare, but also that more informal, profession-specific model readers are introduced. The official model reader is reflected in the text documents as a collection of impersonal features and term explanations. What is required from the reader-in-the-text to navigate the instructions successfully is background knowledge of the organizational division of labor.