Taylor Ritter

Comp 2
Genre Analysis

My initial thoughts on genre were, as Devitt said, based on the container

model, where genre was seen as a constructed form that we put content into,
rather than an integration of the two. Devitt stated that Our reconception will
require releasing old notions of genre as form and text type and embracing new
notions of genre as dynamic patterning of human experience, as one of the
concepts that enable us to construct our writing world. (Devitt, 1993) After reading
her version of what genre is I started to think about the various genres that are
present in the world of my future career, Physical Therapy. Within the discourse
community of physical therapists there are commonly stated goals that are being
pushed towards by the use of genres. The American Physical Therapy Association
(APTA) has stated that their vision is Transforming society by optimizing movement
to improve the human experience. (APTA, 2013) I believe that the genre of patient
in-take forms, that I will be discussing today, is a great example of how the physical
therapy discourse community is trying to accomplish this goal. The genre of in-take
forms work for physical therapists because they follow a basic format that allows
them to quickly get to the root of a patients problem, while also allowing different
specificities depending on the clinicians preferences. This said specificity will be
seen through my analysis of three versions of the same genre type.
My first text-type of the in-take form genre comes from Eugene Physical
Therapy LLC : Orthopedic Sport Spine. This specific in-take form is quite detailed,
with there actually being two cores to the questionnaire. The first part is pretty

standard information such as, name, date of birth, past surgeries, and current
medications. With this being a physical therapy in-take form specifically there are a
few questions that usually only people in this type of discourse community would
need to know, such as the distinct body part that is injured, and the rating of the
pain due to this issue. In the second part of the form they go into even greater
detail and break down the questions to accommodate for the bodys various
extremities, and the different activities that you can or cant perform comfortably
due to your injury. They ask for a pain level a second time, and then ask for more
detailed contact information. Towards the final parts of the form they ask for
insurance information, and they ask for consent twice, the first is for consent of
therapy, and the second is concerning financial responsibility. That is the basic form,
however throughout the form they ask a noticeable amount of questions about
whether the injury was sustained through a work related incident, or motor accident
of some sort; this hints that they deal with a lot of cases involving lawyers or
lawsuits. These questions about lawyers and lawsuits might appeal to a certain
person seeking a specific experience due to their varying circumstances. I believe
that this in-take form does adequately serve the discourse community of physical
therapists in their goal of improving mobility for an easier life by asking detailed
questions about how your injury in affecting your everyday life. (Eugene Physical
Therapy , n.d.)
The second in-take form comes from Function First Physical Therapy. They
state their goals as creating an open and honest relationship with their clients from
the start of treatment. When it comes to the in-take form it has a very simple but
effective layout. They ask for your basic information, immediately followed by
insurance information, and they make sure you are aware of your financial

responsibility. They then go on to ask questions regarding your medical history,

along with the actual goals that you have for taking physical therapy. They end the
form with asking for billing information, and notifying you of their cancellation
policy. This form doesnt go into extreme detail, but they hit the basic points that a
physical therapist needs to know before they can start treatment on you. With this
in-take form they use a basic formula to try and achieve their goal of figuring out
how to better their patients mobility. (Function First Physical Therapy, n.d.)
My final in-take form is from Ithaca College who are specific with their
audience, but vague in their questioning. They again ask for your basic information,
past medical history, pain sensation, goals for therapy, and finally consent. What is
interesting about this form in particular is the area where they ask for a student
identification number. Ithaca College has a physical therapy department that is
available specifically to Ithaca students, faculty, and family members of students
and staff for free. This is a very strict audience target to whom the physical
therapists can perform treatment on, which may be a reason for the less than
detailed in-take form. Ithaca is specific in their goals only for their currently studying
physical therapists, and not for their actual clinic itself. Could it be that these
physical therapists dont ask as many questions, or have as structured goals as
other clinics because its free? (Ithaca College, n.d.)
When comparing the forms together you start to get a more implied picture
of what the clinicians goals really are. With all of the forms you get the general idea
that a physical therapist will not perform treatment on you without basic knowledge
of trivial things such as your name. They also need a medical history, and your
reasoning for seeking a physical therapist in the first place. Even within these
similarities however there are differences that come from the varying levels of

specificity. For example with Ithaca, they ask the absolute bare minimum of
information from you, while with the Eugene Physical Therapy department they are
extremely detailed, even asking you certain things twice. It could be inferred that
maybe Ithaca is not as detailed in its questioning because it has a specific audience
that doesnt have to necessarily pay for its services. This might imply that practices
that actually have patients paying for their services provide more detail and
concern because they know their patients are expecting some sort of return for their
payments. This seems like it might go against the stated goal of physical therapists
which is doing their best to improve mobility for patients always, and not just when
they are paying. Even with these slight differences throughout however, all the
forms still have the same basic goal in mind, which is learning what the clinicians
think is an adequate amount of information needed in order to treat a patient.
The genre of in-take forms is interesting because they are flexible in terms of
detail, but quite rigid in terms of basic content. Most in-take forms have a core
template that will always be there, however they are then taken by people like
physical therapists and tweaked and specified to their liking, until they feel they
have created a form that will allow them the chance to properly achieve the goals
that have been set up by their discourse community. This specific genre is
successful because it is able to be utilized by people outside of a discourse
community, while also being helpful for the people within the community by giving
them useful information about how to help their clients achieve a greater level of
mobility. The genre itself can be taken advantage of by people wishing to only care
about the minimum details, but the patients are in the end receiving some
semblance of treatment for their ailments. Like Devitt said genres come about due
to recurring situations within communities, and in this case the community of

physical therapists saw the need to form a genre that gave them a way to know a
patients basic information, and in the cases of insurance ability to pay, before even
seeing them. (Devitt, 1993) In the end a genres purpose is to adequately deal with
a recurring situation, and when it comes to in-take forms they do this in a successful
manner.

Work Cited
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Devitt, A. (1993). Generalizing about Genre: New Conceptions of an Old

Concept. College Composition and Communication, 44(4), 573-586.

APTA. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Eugene Physical Therapy. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Ithaca College. (n.d.). Retrieved September 29, 2015.
Welcome to Function First Physical Therapy, P.C.'s Website. (n.d.). Retrieved
September 29, 2015.