 |
|
Words That Harm, Words That Heal
Arch Intern Med. 2004;164:1365-1368.
|
|
| Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings. |
|
|
|
INTRODUCTION
A physician enters a patient's hospital room and says: "Good morning. Well, tell me, how is your chest pain? I just reviewed the pictures from your catheterization. You have a severe blockage, and you may be living with a time bomb in your chest." The patient sits motionless, waiting for her physician's recommendation.
Conversations akin to this one between physician and patient may seem contrived but are not uncommon. Being ill inherently humbles and corrodes the sense of self, making patients vulnerable to the words of their physicians.1-3 Language reinforces the tendency of the patient to yield to the authority of the physician, and it is one way that physicians inadvertently distance themselves from patients.4 Rather than describe the complexity of a situation, physicians may use words that generate fear, anxiety, despair, or hopelessness, thus silencing all further discussions. As a result, patients have more difficulty making intelligent decisions and . . . [Full Text of this Article]
FRIGHTENING METAPHORS
MISUNDERSTOOD JARGON AND TECHNICAL LANGUAGE
REASONS WHY PHYSICIANS USE WORDS THAT MAY HARM
LANGUAGE THAT HEALS
Susanna E. Bedell, MD;
Thomas B. Graboys, MD;
Elizabeth Bedell, MA;
Bernard Lown, MD
 CiteULike  Connotea  Del.icio.us  Digg  Reddit  Technorati  Twitter
What's this?
THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES
The role of physiotherapy in the management of non-specific back pain and neck pain
Moffett and McLean
Rheumatology (Oxford) 2006;45:371-378.
ABSTRACT
| FULL TEXT
Copying correspondence to patients
Payne and Jobanputra
Rheumatology (Oxford) 2006;45:493-494.
FULL TEXT
|
