As a doctor, it is inevitable you will face difficult situations where you have to explain
medical terms to someone who does not know anything about medicine. Of course, it
is important to explain everything correctly, but the manner in which the terms are
explained is at least as important. A dilemma that arises with this is deciding which
words or phrases should be avoided. The emotion that a term can evoke – the
connotations – can determine the relationship between doctor and patient. So, which
terms should remain a taboo and be left unsaid? There are several types of taboos,
each one with their own strategic value.
The first type of taboo is jargon. Jargon is language that is unique to a specific field of
work. Medical jargon includes a wide range of taboos, but the best-known, and
probably most eloquent, is ‘patient’. Although we use this word every day and this
one may seem self-evident, think about the different terms a doctor could use.
‘Victim’, ‘case’, ‘sufferer’ or even ‘sick person’ are all terms that a doctor could use,
but probably will not. ‘Patient’ has the positive connotation of a safe environment,
whereas words such as victim imply harm or pain. Another example of jargon has to
do with medical microbiology. Apart from the fact that ‘germs’ is a rather generic
term, it also has an adverse association. Many people link it to dirt or, for example,
an unclean environment. Terms such as ‘bacteria’ or ‘fungi’ are better options to
prevent those kinds of associations. In addition, they are more accurate.
The second vital type of taboo is euphemisms. There is a world of medical
euphemisms out there, and you will probably use them frequently. A prime example
is ‘he has passed away’. This is a much more favourable expression than ‘he is gone’
or ‘he died,’ even though there are other expressions such as ‘he has departed.’ The
point is that the original message is avoided in order to avert more emotional damage
in the patient’s family. Another taboo that is preferably unheard in the medical sector:
drug addicts. In rehab, this could have a serious impact on recovering patients, who
may get depressed after being characterized in such a way. The solution is, again, a
euphemism. A kinder term in this case would be ‘dependents’. This term goes around
the word drug and hence embraces a thoughtful attitude. Following this line of
thought, one could argue that ‘disabled’ is another harming term, implying inequality
and exclusion from society. As this is what is preferably unheard, euphemisms do an
excellent job at increasing the positive connotation. Consider substitutes like ‘bodily
challenged’ or ‘differently abled’. Again, these terms are a world away from the
original, harmful term, reducing the chance of invoking self-hatred in the patient.
The next item is what I like to call false abbreviations. For this topic, one takes a
provoking word and abbreviates it to something more positive or less provoking in an
uncommon way. Let us look at an example concerning a drug: cocaine. When
dependents are recovering from their cocaine addiction, talking about the substance
might be inevitable. Luckily, the doctor or other health care professional can make a
false abbreviation, ‘substance C’ for example. Be careful though because the patient
should not start thinking that cocaine is just any other substance. It is, however, a
good temporary substitute if applied properly.
The last type of taboo that will be discussed are regular abbreviations and acronyms.
Closely related to jargon, they are commonly used by medical professionals. Acronyms are abbreviations that are pronounced like words. They have the ability to keep the taboo intact. There are several examples to illustrate this. An unpleasant
disease that everyone knows is HIV. The V in this acronym stands for virus, although
this word is rarely spoken. This is keeping the taboo of virus alive. Despite HIV’s
negative connotation, human immune deficiency virus (HIV in full) will have an even
more negative effect on both carriers and their friends and family. The same principle
goes for the related disease AIDS, or acquired immune deficiency syndrome in full.
Both ‘deficiency’ and ‘syndrome’ have negative connotations. The acronym ensures
negative connotations are diminished. Another well-known disease is cystic fibrosis,
where the patient’s lungs fill up with mucus, causing them to cough it up. This
disease is often referred to as the abbreviation CF, leaving out the medical
expressions.
However, not all taboos are necessarily a good thing, and some taboos could
arguably be broken. In the past, change of gender, transplantation and artificial
insemination were not spoken about. Yet today, the mentioned examples can be part
of a doctor’s daily practice. This shows that taboos are not fixed, and it depends on
society what remains taboo. Other taboos today include late termination of
pregnancy, euthanasia and palliative sedation. These concepts give rise to ethical
problems that future doctors will most likely come into contact with, and there is no
fixed way to tackle this.
Moreover, it should be stated that taboos in the medical sector do not necessarily
reflect taboos in society as a whole. For example, AIDS and death are more easily
talked about by medical professionals, whilst in non-medical situation these subjects
carry more emotional charge and discomfort.
To sum up, there are numerous types of taboos in the medical sector. In spite of
each one having a different origin, they have a common cause. Indeed, there are
large differences; euphemisms can be applied in numerous cases and false
abbreviations will mostly be used in very specific situations. There is just something
in all these kinds of medical taboos that is representative for the medical sector. They
make sure that the patient gets the best care, the best chance to recover, without
facing negative connotations or being overwhelmed with incomprehensible jargon.
And by recovering I do not only exclusively mean physically, but also mentally or
emotionally. No matter which way you turn it, we would all rather avoid the hospital. It
is partly due to the mentioned taboos that make the visit a more pleasant stay, even
though some taboos give rise to ethical problems.