Medical terms you'd rather see changed....

Nurses General Nursing

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I hate saying "expired" for someone who is dead and I could also do without seeing "morbid obesity" or even obese in the chart.

I know being overweight is a serious health issue, but those words are so ugly to me.

So, what are some medical terms you could do without or you think are strange?

Specializes in ER.
"orders" vrs prescriptions or, god forbid, recommendations.

I had to laugh at that one. I worked with a surgeon once who asked for an order sheet. He said, "I don't know why they call them orders, you guys (nurses) are going to do what you want to anyway". AHHHHH, a surgeon who actually gets it! LOL

While we are changing vocabulary, lets start with "Nurses Training". I don't know about you, but I received nursing EDUCATION at a University, not training at the doggie academy. I am not trained to jump thru flaming hoops (although some shifts feel like it), I make educated decisions. I cringe when I hear about nurses being trained.

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Specializes in Critical Care, Cardiothoracics, VADs.
from a medical dictionary online:

"Hematochezia is the presence of bright red, fresh blood in the feces. Hematochezia usually occurs with bleeding in the lower intestines (colon, rectum). Hematochezia should not be confused with melena, which is the passage of dark, tarry, black feces. Melena represents the passage of old, digested blood that has occurred with bleeding higher up in the intestinal tract."

Interesting, but I guess that's a US source. Never heard it mentioned here in 10 years of being an RN.

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I know, I don't like referring to an older persons undergarments as diapers. It is degradding enough that they are wearing them. I just call them undergarments. It sounds respectful that way.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.
Pulmonary toilet...I just hate that phrase!

Me too, sounds like someone's breathing in toilet water.

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

I hate using the word "client" instead of patient

Me either. When i hear "client" i think of those Hair Club for Men commerciials.

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This is my first post, but I had to weigh in.

I am a student finishing all pre-reqs now and hoping for fall 2007 acceptance. For the past ten years I have been involved in parental bereavement support by running support groups the death of a child (including perinatal death) and also in education for health care professionals on compassionate and culturally sensitive bereavement care. I worked at a hospital for over 2 years as a parent support specialist covering L&D, NICU, PICU, and the ED.

I can tell you hands down that ANY dehumanizing vernacular when someone dies can be offensive to families. In particular, parents in our support groups who experienced a miscarriage or stillbirth often refer to the word "fetus" as the "F-word". When teaching in hospitals, I generally suggest that health care professionals take the cue from the family. I have rarely encountered a family who refers to their baby as a fetus, or the death of their baby as a fetal demise. We would never ask a couple when their "fetus is due" or comment how tragic it was because their fetus died shortly after they had their "fetus shower".

Fetal demise gets my vote, not only to be changed but to be removed all together!

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Specializes in 5 yrs OR, ASU Pre-Op 2 yr. ER.

We has a pt. that filed a complaint when her consent form had been read back to her as "incomplete abortion" (thinking that the consent was saying she was post-op from an abortion). This was her 4th or 5th miscarriage, and needless to say the A word didn't sit well.

We say "miscarriage". If the consent says anything about 'abortion', i still say miscarriage instead.

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Specializes in Emergency Room.

I'm going to be the voice of dissent on the "obese" term. For many people, hearing that they have been classified as obese or (God forbid) morbidly obese was one of the things that convinced them it was time to make a major lifestyle change. To me, obese and morbidly obese are words that sound as serious as the condition they describe. That's just my $0.02, so flame away if you must.

My addition is REFUSE. I hate it when I see "pt refuses pain meds." Patients can decline any nonessential tx as far as I'm concerned, and it isn't a refusal. I have no problem using it when it comes to an IV (esp for someone who really needs one...CP, etc) or other necessary tx, but if someone just doesn't want to pay $100 for a gram of Tylenol.....understandable.

By the way, right there with you guys on "diaper." Babies wear diapers, not adults.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
I hate using the word "client" instead of patient, that was really big in all of nursing textbooks in school (10 years ago). I work in Urology and I hate the term gross hematuria. We have to use it to describe the difference between frank blood in the urine or micro-hematuria but I never like the word. I hate the word foley, where did that come from?

Foley is named after its creator I believe.

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I agree with some here, but most of the words mentioned I have no problem with..........as long as they're not said in front of pts and family. To me, the loss of a baby in utero is an abortion or fetal demise, and the death of a pt is "expired", but I would NEVER say that to the pt/family.

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Specializes in Geriatrics, Cardiac, ICU.
I'm going to be the voice of dissent on the "obese" term. For many people, hearing that they have been classified as obese or (God forbid) morbidly obese was one of the things that convinced them it was time to make a major lifestyle change. To me, obese and morbidly obese are words that sound as serious as the condition they describe. That's just my $0.02, so flame away if you must.

Not flaming you, but I think that seeing the number, 100 lbs overweight or seeing the number you actually weigh, like 310 lbs would be pretty convincing too.

It that doesn't work, let then see open heart surgery where the pt. has a lot of fat around it or liposuction fat just laid up on a table.

That's scary.

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I agree with some here, but most of the words mentioned I have no problem with..........as long as they're not said in front of pts and family. To me, the loss of a baby in utero is an abortion or fetal demise, and the death of a pt is "expired", but I would NEVER say that to the pt/family.

You'd be surprised how many do though...(otherwise it would not be talked about in support groups).

At the hospital I worked at, the board at the front desk (right in front of all visitors who stopped) had the room number and "Fetal Demise" in plain view for all to see. Even if they had IUFD, families often asked what that meant.

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