Pumpkin Positive in the Departure Lounge
The BBC reports on the work of Dr Adam Fox, who has compiled a list of the abbreviations doctors use in their notes. These are used, allegedly, to pinpoint the unspeakable truths about their patients:
The increasing rate of litigation means that there is a far higher chance that doctors will be asked in court to explain the exact meaning of NFN (Normal for Norfolk), FLK (Funny looking kid) or GROLIES (Guardian Reader Of Low Intelligence in Ethnic Skirt).
Dr Fox recounts the tale of one doctor who had scribbled TTFO - an expletive expression roughly translated as “Told To Go Away” - on a patient’s notes . . .
Thanks to Tom Baker for this one
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I had a friend who was a store manager for a well-known clothes chain. He had a very similar system of abbreviations for staff interviews. People need to speak the truth somehow…even if in code!
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jb says: Hi Rachel. Didn’t you just love GROLIES.
Yes…so specific!
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I once had some medical students as housemates. They delighted in showing me articles about abbreviations and jocose expressions doctors had for various patient conditions. One article in particular referred to patients brought into emergency rooms. I would imagine that that sort of thing could be useful safety valve for releasing the tension that must accumulate in one who performs such a hard job. It would be shame if doctors were intimidated and harassed out of exchanges of this kind.