This article focuses on the role of stories told about a patient in geropsychiatric team meetings in the construction of an image of the patient. Using the narrative techniques described by Gee, Labov, and Riessman, three team meeting discussions about a geropsychiatric patient are analyzed. The role of stories and the various images these engender are examined in relationship to (a) the team’s evolving understanding of the patient, (b) the team’s conception of the role of the patient, and (c) how the thematic components of these stories may influence patient care.
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