patient lingo...

Specialties Emergency

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.

for my kids it was chicken pops

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

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

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.

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."

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?

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.

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!

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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