10 - Fact and inference in courtroom testimony

Summary

In August 1978, a sixteen-month-old child was brought to the emergency room of a large US Navy hospital in Southern California for treatment of burns. The personnel present were the emergency room nurse, a physiotherapist, a medical corpsman and Dr. A, the Navy physician in charge. Dr. A is one of many medical officers, natives of the Philippines, who are attached to various Navy units currently stationed at the base. Unofficial sources state that about 40% of the junior physicians who are the primary care providers in this and other US Government hospitals in the Western United States, and who come into most direct contact with patients, are speakers of Philippine and other Asian languages. To the extent that this is true, this case raises communicative issues that have considerable importance for health care delivery in this region.

Dr. A speaks Aklan as his native tongue and in addition is fluent in Tagalog, the national language, and in English. His career pattern is similar to that of many other American physicians of South-East Asian background. He had been admitted to the University of California after secondary school training at home, where he was educated in English and Tagalog. Upon completion of a BA course in science, he enlisted in the US Navy, serving three years as a clerk at various bases in the United States and abroad, including Vietnam. Having decided to seek medical training, he applied to schools in the United States and the Philippines, but for financial reasons he was forced to take his medical training at the University of the Philippines.