an update on the Icky Stuff, with Good News
I had my follow-up appointment with my gastroenterologist earlier this week.-- this was Young Dr. Young, the one whose colonoscopy put me in hospital.
I was told that none of the 24 polyps they biopsied showed any signs of being precancerous.
( Crankiness, but not ickiness, behind cut )
I was told that none of the 24 polyps they biopsied showed any signs of being precancerous.
( Crankiness, but not ickiness, behind cut )
Whew!
As for Young Doctor Young, I'm pissed on your behalf regardless, because things should have been handled better to begin with, but I have to confess to understanding SOME of the communication stuff.
You, my dear, are not the average person. Young Doctor Young was probably cautioned in school to talk to the average person and also try to use small words in order to not "talk above" his patients and therefore put them more at ease. Supposedly, this works for "average" people. (?) And FSM knows there are bizarre consequences when one talks in big words to "average" people.
A friend had a client put meds in a dog's eye that were meant for rectal use. No lie. He thought that's what "rectal" meant.
I've had eye meds and ear meds messed up. I've had oral meds put up butts and just about every other variation of screw up possible from misunderstanding of the words "orally" and the like. Studies show that the average veterinary client reads at a fifth grade level. They don't know words like "hemorrhage." You have to say "bleeding."
So I often feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place. I don't want to talk down to my clients, but I want to get my point across, too. It's a tough place to be.
So I address it like this: I start my explanation in fairly basic (though still not kindergarten) terms and then, very early on (like second sentence) say "and just stop me if you know this" so that the client can let me know if they are, oh, a physician or whatever or just not a complete moron, like so many seem to be. It seems to work. Most clients say something like "well, I know a bit, but keep going," and that lets me know that I can use bigger words like "pulmonary" but probably should avoid ginormous ones like "reactive lymphoid hyperplasia" and the like.
But seriously, what person doesn't know "benign" these days?
Sigh...
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I do it myself -- more often for financial jargon than for computer jargon, since most of the people with whom I interact are above average with computers, but very few people outside my field know the financial jargon at all. "Ongoing client education" is one of the bywords of the place I work (where we want to empower our clients so they can make good decisions with us, not confuse them so they'll accept what we do without question).
The vocabulary adjustment is so familiar to me that it took me until this time around, with my cynicism shield in place, before I realised that it had never happened. I've talked to this guy half a dozen times by now, and he still talks down to me, so I must assume that he always talks down to every patient and knows no other way.
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"we want to empower our clients so they can make good decisions with us, not confuse them so they'll accept what we do without question"
I am the animal's advocate, but the client is my boss.
And yes, I adjust based on the client. Most can handle middle-of-the-road medical jargon. Some can handle none at all and some know more than me. I learned to adjust for them years ago naturally, though one couple, a biochemist and a physician, are memorable in my education because they didn't tell me their jobs until AFTER I explained hyperadrenocorticism. Yay. (They were awesome, though. I loved those clients!) Live and learn, right? ;)
I do tend to type my discharges in simpler terms, though. Earlier tonight, I caught myself using "arthrodesis" and I changed it to "fusing the joint surgically." That only makes sense. It's a rare day when you need to say "neutrophil" for "white blood cell." After all, the client isn't the only one who might need to read and understand those. *grin*
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