How Words Can Be Misunderstood

"If there is any great secret of success in life, it lies in the ability to put yourself in the other person's place and to see things from his point of view - as well as your own." ~Henry Ford

While working in in the medical field, the art of communication is put to use on a regular basis.   There is often little time to construct what is needing to be said at that moment in time.  Therefore, being brief and to the point is critical.  While in the midst of a medical crisis, giving family members information is not only considerate, but is often needed for permission to treat the patient.   Consent for treatment must be given by the patient or the responsible party prior to any life saving interventions.  

While in school, we are taught to use the correct medical terminology to describe a procedure.  We are also expected to use that terminology when giving reports to the physicians and also on our paperwork, as it becomes a legal document.  That, however, may prove to be confusing for a patient or family member when asking permission to perform a particular intervention.  Many people are familiar with an intravenous catheter being placed in their body, but are unaware that they've seen it because they are unfamiliar with the terminology until you say "I.V." or "putting a needle in the arm to give fluids" and visually showing the patient or family what it looks like.  Because of the large audience television has for medical shows, much of the population have seen tracheal intubation done on television, but have no idea what it actually is.  So, when faced with a family member that is in respiratory or cardiac arrest, and the patient needs to have a tracheal intubation with oxygen supplementation, chest compressions performed, and an intravenous catheter placed for administration of cardiac medications, many people are unable to give educated consent as these words are medical jargon that they are unfamiliar with.


The role of the medical provider is to speak in terms that the average person can understand, while also being concise and efficient as time is often of a critical nature.  It is important to be able to assess the understanding of the patient or family members and adjust the explanations to fit each individual so that the consent given is accurate and informed.  The words a medical provider uses can easily become a matter of life or death for a patient, and all providers need to be aware of the power the choice of the words used can have.

Expectations/Success in Class

My expectations prior to class starting was to practice speaking in public to alleviate nerves.  My only expectation now is to get through this class with a fair grade, reflective of the work I put in.  I feel that communication should not be limited to what is popular or only be represented as "likeability" as the end goal.  People come with different ideals, beliefs and life experience and I would like to feel like my voice was heard and respected while in class. I would also like to learn more about my classmates and what type of message they would like the world to hear.  Oh, and I always think learning in this type of class should be fun.  I like to laugh and get to know people, and I feel that this type of class is appropriate for that.