Mispronunciations That Drive You Nuts

ParkerBC,MSN,RN, PhD, RN · Feb 22, 2015

Anne Bancroft! (although I think it was "I never did mind about the little things...")

LOL- Yes! After I posed it, I had second thoughts as to whether or not I quoted her correctly.

azhiker96, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

I heard slobbery glands instead of salivary glands. Considering the person was referring to a toddler it seemed appropriate.

AMR21, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

We dual sign off all infusions at shift change. A couple nurses read drips as "migs per kig per hour" I don't know why it gets to me. Please, "milligrams per kilogram per hour"

Krzysztof · Feb 22, 2015

"How many diagnosises does that patient have?"

Mr. Murse · Feb 22, 2015

As long as you're pronouncing letters that are actually IN the word, I don't think there's a "right" way to say some of these terms, just a more common way of saying it.

Now, what really bugs me is people adding letters that aren't even in the word. Like metoprolol, which has already been brought up. I can't count the number of times I've heard people put a whole extra syllable in it like "metatoprolol". Or people love moving the r around in the word like "metropolol".

Another really commonly mispronounced word is "peripheral". I hear "peripheeal" all the time.

Oh, and one of my favorites, I was getting report from a nurse talking about a groin incision, and she kept pronouncing it strangely so I looked at her paper and sure enough she had it written "growing incision". Ha. Those crazy growing incisions are tricky to dress.......

RNJill · Feb 22, 2015

I HATE it when I see "track" written for tract...i.e., "intestinal track." Sometimes this error is from a nurse or other healthcare professional and that just makes it weirder to me!!

bluegeegoo2, LPN · Feb 22, 2015

Worked with a nurse that consistently pronounced Namenda as NAH-men-da. It irritated us so much that it became her nickname. Non-nursing, the use of "loose" for "lose" is my all time biggest irritant ever. "I'm afraid I'll loose my keys if they're not in my pocket." Ugh. Just. Ugh.

guest769224 · Feb 22, 2015

My nursing instructor pronounces Haldol "Hal-uh-doll"

Red Kryptonite · Feb 22, 2015

My nursing instructor pronounces Haldol "Hal-uh-doll"

Maybe she's thinking "haloperidol" while she's saying it?

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

bluegeegoo2 said:

Worked with a nurse that consistently pronounced Namenda as NAH-men-da. It irritated us so much that it became her nickname. Non-nursing, the use of "loose" for "lose" is my all time biggest irritant ever. "I'm afraid I'll loose my keys if they're not in my pocket." Ugh. Just. Ugh.

The Oatmeal has a comic for that, too: 10 Words You Need to Stop Misspelling - The Oatmeal

My favorite is the one on definitely. I can't stand when I see "definately" or, worse, when someone is trying to write "definatly" and it gets auto-corrected to defiantly.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

ICURN3020 said:

Not mispronounciations, but I've noticed regional differences in word choice. I'm in the northern US but have family in many different regions of the country.
We say "push" / they say "mash"

(as in push the button)

We say "quit misbehaving or quit acting up" / they say "quit being ugly"

(as in reference to a child's behavior)

We say "you all" or "you guys" / they say "y'all"

We say "couch" / they say "sofa"

We say "pop" / they say "soda"

22 Maps That Show The Deepest Linguistic Conflicts In America - Business Insider

Where in the north are you that you say "pop"? Pop is Midwestern to me. We say soda in the Northeast.

sistrmoon, BSN, RN · Feb 22, 2015

This is my new favorite thread:) I laughed a lot. My first degree is in English.

I like "Dilaudin." As in "I'm allergic to everything except Dilaudin." Many variations.