Lethargic a word to remove from Callers vocabulary

Specialties Triage

Published

Specializes in ER, Psych, Telephone Triage.

How often do we get this complaint on our screens Lethargic, unable to stand??

1) Is the pt. awake? No he is lethargic

What is the pt. doing? Watching TV and talking on his cell phone and eating

Is he struggling to breath, any noisey rapid breathing, blue lips or skin?

He has noisey breathing. Let me listen to him breath! The pt. has a mouth full of popcorn and is talking over the popcorn and breathing fine!

2) He is lethargic

What is he doing? Laying in bed all day listening to his I pod and reading a book!

Specializes in Case Managemenet.

My personal favorites for lethargic...Pt was up over 24 hours and now has slept more than 6 hours. Pt was woken up prior to call yelled at the person who woke them so they are lethargic. Or lethargic means child with a high fever (100) laying on couch watching TV and laughing. Had to throw the high fever in. Love that when I find out it 100 or less.

Specializes in OB, Telephone Triage, Chart Review/Code.

Yep, have to take time to clarify lethargic, which eats into my call time....mostly I say "limp like a rag doll" to give them a better picture of what it means and they come back and say "oh no, he's been laying on the couch and watching TV".

Specializes in ER, Psych, Telephone Triage.

Yeah allot of teching to do out there! Especially paramaters for what is normal and what is not.

Well at what temperature should I scoop him up and run him into the Emergency room?

Well not at 99 degrees the temp that you called about it is not even a fever! Call us first let us access his condition before you run any where.

There parents run into any UC without calling first then find the UC doesn't accept their insurance instead of just calling us first. Then they wind up arguing with us about it.

Specializes in Nursing Education.

Luckily my unit's policy is reflects the frequent misuse of lethargic...'lethargic' being listed as parent's primary concern does NOT make it an urgent call for us. I mean, the child is sick...when YOU are sick do YOU feel like bouncing off the walls and being at your normal activity level?

Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

I worked for a pediatric advice line for about 12 years and "lethargic" was the bane of my existence. Most parents will say their feverish or vomiting child is lethargic. I learned quickly not to even ask that question. Instead I said "Tell me what he's doing right now." Usually the answer is "watching TV." Okay, not lethargic. Is he occasionally laughing at jokes or playing with a toy? "Yes, but he's not himself." Okay, not lethargic. If they describe a non-lethargic child I explain to them what real lethargy is--no laughing, playing, interacting for at least 4 hours or more. Can't get them engaged no matter what you do. Then I tell them that it's okay for him to feel "off" because he has a fever (duh!) sometimes I think parents just don't have any common sense at all.:uhoh3:

In popular usage, lethargic means tired. Try to give the parents a break. They don't necessarily know the medical meaning of the word, so to them their child IS being lethargic, if s/he normally is running around playing and is instead laying listlessly on the couch.

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