‘Innappropriate’ nursing words

Heh. When I read the words “flooring or decking” for a moment I thought you were going to go all DIY on us. Bring out Kirsty Allsop!

Well, if we’re not allowed to use the word “agitation” somebody had better mention it to the SHOs since it’s written up as indication for PRN Haloperidol on all the med charts.

Did the person doing the presentation explain what the problem was with these words?

Me, I’d say the worst sins were things like: -

“No management problems”
“Settled and appropriate”
“Mental state stable”

What on earth does any of that actually MEAN? And worse still, I have seen all three phrases written in one report about someone who, when I went to talk to him, was climbing the walls with fear because of auditory hallucinations.

Bah!

What do they mean? I think it means, “They haven’t bothered me all shift, so I’ll assume they’re okay.”

You`re missing the point Bruce. This is nothing to do with you, any other nurse or even what they write. It`s entirely about some Healthcare Commissioner attempting to emphasise their PC credentials. Essential if you are to progress in any quango type organisation.

The military operate much more effectively than other public sector bodies as they utilise the Ways and Means Act ( self explanatory ) and File 13 ( the bin ). This directive needs to go straight into File 13.

It’s about context, as Beakie says. The words can be empty, meaningless and unhelpful.

I think describing a patient as agitated, distressed and frightened (3 of the banned words) can be useful. If a patient assaults a female black nurse, but was agitated, distressed and frightened, it could be understandable. If they elect to do so ’cause they don’t like women or don’t like blacks, that’s different.

The words can help give context and explanation. Documenting behaviour alone doesn’t.

OSB, would this be the same military that employ phrases like “collaterel damage”?

And your point is, Jan ?. War is hell. Always has been, always will be. Innocent people get hurt. I don`t like that any more than you do. In the current world situation the Chinese are hungry for space and resources, the Russians are hungry for status, the Islamists are hungry for a sharia planet, the Africans are simply hungry for food. If you think war and collateral damage are over you`re a little naive.

BTW, I strongly suspect I`m one of the few people on this site who has never voted for the Labour Party which took us into war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Have you been “pleasant on approach” and “interacting well” with your “co- infrm”. If you would like the opportunity to “ventilate your feelings” in a “1:1″ then just let me know.

And in the “1:1″ was “reassurance given”?

OSB, I do not, by any means, think that “war is over”. My point is that the military are not necessarily as efficient or as precise as you may believe. Phrases like “collateral damage” and “mission deficit” are vague, ambiguous euphemisms designed to dress up the true nastiness behind the fluff.

Further, in a former life I was an engineer in the defence industry. In my experience the military do not “operate much more effectively than other public sector bodies”. They operate in a way that is, in their own words, “sub-optimal”.

oh dear. I lol’d!

And then I was encouraged to open up.

oh no, I can’t edit that comment! It sounds terrible!

Please ignore the bottom sentance!

I give up, I can’t even spell!

sentEnce

D’oh!

Jan, War is quite tough enough but military commanders now have to contend with voracious news hounds and, even worse, ambulance chasing legal scumbags following them around. We can now watch a lot of what`s going on Sky News 24 without a full appreciation of the entire context and with no appreciation of the fog of war. That`s the real reason why the military have had to utilise bullshit terms like collateral damage. Terms like mission deficit and mission creep simply reveal that their political masters had no clear idea of what their actual objective was.

In a former life I was in the Army. For me the primary difference is simple. As a soldier I had an implacable belief that I belonged to the world`s finest fighting force. The NHS has many qualities but in a lot of respects it is a shambles. I have no belief, whatsoever, that I am part of the world`s finest healthcare system.

Perversely, it is Iraq and Afghanistan that have enabled the military to retain it`s status as our most impressive public service. If it had not deployed them, the Labour Party would have reduced them to a pitiful nonentity sat around in barracks agonising over which military terms are inappropriate.

I think the armed services and the NHS have many individuals in them who are committed to doing a good job. I find it a shame that when they do a good job, they do it in spite of the politicians rather than because of them.