Un-Wise Words Wednesday? Yep, you bet. If you're just tuning in, this is part 2 of a 3 part series about words. Medical words. Wonky, wily, and weird medical words. Yesterday's post was about words in medicine that are extremely logical while at the same time managing to defy logic. Today's words/phrases are those that inadvertently create chaos; words that have the ability to inadvertently promoter of misunderstanding and miscommunication. Said another way, the words under discussion today are those that result in "collateral damage." Tomorrow's post (the third and last on un-wise words series) will focus on letters - ones that make medical lingo seem even more mumbo-jumbo (and yes, that's possible). But, until then lets consider some of my ever-bewildering favourite Collateral Damage Casualties.
Tomato, Tah-mah-toe, Potato Pah-tah-toe
Well, I think the title for this one is fairly self-explanatory, and a very common experience; it's not difficult to find two people who pronounce the same word differently. Whether an accent is the cause or different interpretations of the pronunciation, things can get a little tricky to understand under these circumstances.
Bewilderment: If the issue was limited to people with various thick accents, that would be quite logical. But since it's not, it makes me wonder - why? And how can you interpret it differently?
Life context: I have never promised to be the be the smartest knife in the drawer, but a friend from the UK once asked me if I needed any Bazz-ill. Now, many people have heard the word pronounced Bay-sle, and that's the only pronunciation I have known. If she was standing in the kitchen, talking about food, or any other such hint, I might have figured it out faster, but alas, it took a couple of go rounds for me to sort that the spice "Basil" was the item under discussion! Kinda silly of me really...
Medical example Have you ever heard of "ringing in the ears?" It's officially called tinnitus. Some call it (note syllable accent in bold) tin-night-us, and others call it tin-uh-tiss. Different syllable accents, different letter sounds... it all gets very confusing. For instance, Q: "Ms Jane, are you experiencing any tin-uh-tiss?" A: "No Ma'am, but my ears have been ringing like crazy!" For the record, the dictionary lists both pronunciations!
Sounds like...
Ever play charades? If no one is getting whatever it is the charade-maker is trying to convey, most resort to "Sounds like" before demonstrating the comparison word or phrase. Then it's up to the participants to make the connection.
Bewilderment: No bewilderment at the moment. I'm usually bewildered by the idea of it all, as well as in the midst of the communicating attempt. This time it's only the latter that I find bewildering!
Life context: There's a joke from days gone by about an elderly lady who plays BINGO and can't seem to make sense of a benign tumor (Get it? B-9. Someone had to explain it to me LOL!).
Medical example: "Ms. Davis, remember, nothing aurally" Most of us would assume that means nothing by mouth (orally), but aurally refers to the ear.' Might make a difference in terms of hunger, and perhaps a hint that you should get checked aurally because of what you heard! One last example: I would imagine it would look a whole lot different if you were told the Doctor was calling you in to talk about a Fecal matter (re feces (aka poop)) instead of a Fetal matter (re baby in the belly)! Just a small difference between the two don't you think?!
Foiled by the Spell Checker
It's great that we can have so much technology at hand to keep us in contact with family, friends, and medical people. Truly wonderful, yes, but sometimes mind-boggling once spell check is done with your message.
Bewilderment: Why does Spell Checker refuse to trust me? I know I make a lot of spelling errors, and am happy for its assistance. Truly. But seriously, if I write a word 3 times over and it still tries to correct me, why can I not make it understand that if it's made me recheck/rewrite it 3 times, that I might actually mean for it to be the way I am trying to write it? What does a girl have to do to get spell checker to trust her some of the time?
Life context: I once texted my nurse the results of an appointment she wanted info about. I, not feeling well at the time, did not check to see if my spell checker had automatically corrected my words - I was just trying to get it down, and get it done. Turns out I had a "Buddhism IV (Intra-Venous)." She called me shortly thereafter, cause there was no guessing from that one what on earth I was trying to get across! Incidentally, the word spell checker chose to replace with Buddhism was the medication Buscopan. I'm not sure what a Buddhism IV would entail exactly....
Medical example: Well, the life context example took care of this, so I'll just say that recently I wrote a note to someone that included the words refeeding syndrome, or refeeding for short - and I didn't catch that spell checker had replaced refeeding with referring all the way through the note! Makes for a very confusing read!
Common Words, Common Assumptions
There are a whole lot of words in this world, and many are said incorrectly (i.e. suppos-ib-ly instead of suppos-ed-ly). Other common words are frequently written incorrectly (i.e. adress instead of address). And that's okay in both cases. No one's perfect - and hopefully we can laugh at ourselves. The important thing is that everyone still knows what is going on; saying a common word incorrectly or spelling it, lets say- creatively, will still get the intended point across. What gets tricky though is
when a common word is used with the assumption that it means something it doesn't because it's most of often only common in one general context.
Bewilderment: I know I've said this before, but again I ask why do we have to use words or terms that have a higher risk of miscommunication when giving a diagnosis, or a post-diagnosis consult? It's hard enough sometimes to be given a diagnosis for anything - but when there are common assumptions made by laypeople (laypeople especially but not exclusively) the diagnosis can seems so much scarier, and so much bigger. Some people assume that requiring oxygen therapy (breathing in oxygen from a mask) means being in a wheelchair forever and ever. It doesn't. Why can't there be some kind of gentle preface to giving someone a diagnosis that you know has common assumptions and pitfalls thereof associated it?
Medical context: Telling someone they have gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy) is something many women experience, but it does not necessarily mean that you will have diabetes forever and ever (thank goodness - it usually disappears after the baby is born). But diabetes is a scary word. It comes with certain assumptions - most of them kind of intimidating. If we could only preface it "Well June, you have what is likely just a temporary case of diabetes," that would be a great start. If the doc continued with "in which the baby will likely be just fine with some dietary changes..." It still is concerning - I'm not trying to minimize that, and it's not an overly fun thought or reality to experience. Still, if it was me getting said diagnosis, I think that's the method I'd prefer. After all, not only are there assumptions with the word diabetes, but not many people express pregnancy as the "gestational" period when they are talking with their girlfriends either!
Another Medical context: Tumours are usually described as malignant or benign. Do you know that the definition of Malignant actually means fatal? If so - great! But, as it turns out, many people think that one has cancer or some kind of tumour every time the word Malignant is used to describe a condition. Malignant Hypertension is a dangerous form of high blood pressure. Malignant Hyperthermia is a condition that makes surgery a higher risk for some than it is for others, amongst a whole host of other non-cancer related dangerous symptoms, triggers, and factors. But time and time again, someone is devastated because they think themselves or their loved ones have cancer the minute they hear the word Malignant. If this kind of thing has happened to you, you have nothing to be ashamed about... You aren't the first person that has happened to, and I am sure you will not be the last!
Well, that's it for now. Hope that this gives you a good giggle here and there, and also tells you that you are not the only one to wonder "Did I hear that right?" or "He didn't just say _____, did he?" and so on:). And, hopefully it also makes you feel like you're not the only one to make an incorrect assumption.... It just means that you are human like the rest of us. Oh the joys of it all!
Happy communicating - collateral damage and all!
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