Usage of The Metaphor of War in Emergency Department and its Communicational Implications

Metaphor provides a clear and rich description of a phenomenon or situation by transferring meaning from a familiar concept to a more complex situation. In the communications of the medical staff and the patients, metaphors are used to simplify to understand the treatment processes, therefore the identification and analysis of these metaphors can provide a clear image of the narrative of each of the two sides of the therapeutic space and possible blockages or communication disorders. This article examines the narrative of the medical staffs and patients from the emergency ward as one of the strategic medical spaces. For this aim, a semi-structured interview was conducted with 15 members of the treatment staff and 15 patients and their companions. The thematic analysis of interviews shows that in the narrative of the medical staff and patients, war and its related concepts are the most used metaphors in description of emergency. The Metaphor of war is used among the medical staff to convey the urgency for the patient and highlight the command and control, the subjectivity of the medical staff in the emergency. This metaphor for the patient means surrendering to the state of war, enduring hardship and resisting the disease.