patient lingo...

Published

i find it hilarious to hear the things that patients say - believeing that they are using medical terminology correctly...

vomicking = vomiting

incubated = intubated

subdermal hematoma = subdural (that was pretty close though)

injection fraction = ejection fraction

lateration = laceration

mycardio infection = MI

the list goes on and on - what are some of your favorites??

Specializes in NICU, PICU, PCVICU and peds oncology.

I once had a friend with a "denominal hernia". And my son had "chicken fox" when he was three.

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for my kids it was chicken pops

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I just read thru all 10 pages of these posts...oh my GOD!!!

Still LOL!!! And crying!!

I have one to add...

"Orientated"...the word is ORIENTED!!!

EMS says it...nurses say it...patients say it...

Did anyone ever learn alert and orientated?!!?? :rotfl:

Makes me crazier than I already am!!!

:chuckle :chuckle :chuckle

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I just cannot get past the "O2 stats"... is this your oxygen trend over time or what???

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my annoyances come from staff:

predisone-prednisone

doctors/surgeons who spell gauze-guaze

what were the pt's O2 stats

phenagrin

msra instead of mrsa

The ones who say that an ECG isn't the same as an EKG

ah well I could go on but thats enough for now.

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Specializes in ED, MED-SERG, CCU, ICU, IPR.

What I did not see posted is my all time favorite " I forget what it's called.

It starts with D, Dilada. I get Phenegin for the nauseation."

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When my mom was diagnosed with cancer of the vulva my cousin came over and told her "Don't worry-my husband worked with a man that had that and he is fine" Umm-I don't think so....This is the same person that gave our 98yr old dying grandmother mouth care with a betadine swab...I walked in the room and grandmom was drooling red foam and I almost crapped...Then I saw what my cousin was up to.....hello? Can you read? Later on the hospital stopped stocking the lemon glycerin swabs because of this incident.....

Oh my gosh I am so sorry to laugh at a sad time in your life but I can only imagine walking in and seeing that! Your cousin sounds like she really does care though. Who else would think to deliver oral care?

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We are up to 36 posts and no-one has had a "go" at us yet for making fun of patients!!!

Truly EVERYONE makes these sort of mistakes when speaking another language which is what medicine is. The classic mistake in Italian is to order a plate of dog instead of a plate of meat (English speakers do not roll the R's enough:chuckle)

Anyway here are my favs:-

Dire Rear - diahorrea

Expensive Scare Unit - Intensive Care Unit

Asparagus veins - Varicose Veins

Very close veins = varicose veins

The whole phenagrin/Phenergan grates on me too.

Metoprolol = met-trop-rol-LOL.. drives me nuts too! There are physicians who can't pronounce drugs correctly.

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In my nursing school OB rotation we each had to do a post-partum assessment of a pt's fundus. One of the students in my class announced that she was ready to go do her "post-mortem assessment of the pt's fondue". Needless to say...she is NOT an RN today!

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

Good, I wouldn't want that person to touch my fondue.

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