ABSTRACT
In this chapter, three stories provide different perspectives on a tutorial in which a student performed a neurological examination on an elderly man. The juxtaposition of these stories offers insight into the meanings of the interaction for various participants and the identity work that takes place within it. From the researcher’s perspective, the most striking feature of the interaction was the silencing of the patient’s attempts to construct his identity through stories about his life. A student who observed the examination focused on the complexity of bedside tutorials and their tendency to cause confusion for patients and students. The patient emphasised his view that the examination was boring and dragged on for too long, continuing after he asked them to stop. The complexity of bedside tutorials is discussed, along with the potential for confusion and the contest for power and identity integral to these interactions. To explore different ways of responding to patients’ needs during clinical teaching, two more stories are discussed. One tells how a tutor responded sensitively to an unexpected interjection by the patient during an examination. In the other, a tutorial disrupted by a patient’s emotional distress became an opportunity to teach students about respect and compassion.
