Did I fall off the turnip truck, or have all the nurses I keep hearing say “exasperation” instead of “exacerbation”? Your patient does not have an exasperation of COPD or of any other physiologic process known to nursekind. Your patient may BE exasperated—particularly after hearing you say “exasperation” instead of “exacerbation.” It’s an epidemic. Is it just my editorial background that causes me to want to say, “No! It’s an exacerbation!”? The wretched thing is that it’s one of those errors that happens so often I just know I’m going to start saying it too. Gah.
I’m actually frequently appalled at nurses’ vocabulary (especially my teachers…if you have a master’s degree, I think you should be able to pronounce the terms in your field, but again, maybe that’s just me). They routinely mangle terms. For example, I have two who can’t say any word that ends with -megaly. Patients don’t have cardiomegaly or splenomegaly; they have cardiomeglia and splenomeglia. Another one says things like “ant-eye-cubical space” to refer to the antecubital space. It bothered me excessively during my first semester because they were always telling US to ensure we pronounced things correctly lest we look like idiots. Now they don’t do that anymore, so I’m mainly perplexed. Is it because after THEY have heard these things mispronounced for a long time, they start hearing the mispronunciation as correct? It happens. Or is there a brain characteristic of those drawn to nursing that forbids appropriate vocabulary usage?
It seems nit-picky, but I really don’t think it is. If I were sick and had a nurse who mispronounced my diagnosis and medications, I would not have faith in his/her professional skills, and that’s a problem. Perhaps most patients are more forgiving than I am, or perhaps they are more impressed by demonstration of skill and provision of comfort. Still and all…exasperation has got to go!
Funny how there can be so many different pronunciations. (acetylcholine= “ass-uh-tea-ill-cho-line” or “uh-see-tull-choline.”
But “exasperated” and “exacerbated” doesn’t count, I’m with you!
Yeah, and what about saying “pacifically” instead of specifically? It is driving me INSANE!
Yikes, I haven’t heard “pacifically” yet. There is rampant syllable/sound dropping, though. My primary nurse for clinicals last week left a lot of middle things out. Metoprolol became “metolol,” for example. “Did you give him his metolol?” Er…no. Not really. It makes me wonder if med errors are caused by these kinds of things. Some drugs sound a lot alike. If you get too used to having to guess what people mean…whammo! Med error.
I have the same problem. My first semester Ci said “stetascope” and “analglesics” instead of “stethascope” and “analgesics” - now my CI says Potazzium instead of Potassium. There are so many more.
One of the best instructors I had constantly mangled words, and one of the worst I had typo’d the hell out of all her handouts but made a big deal about typos and pronunciation…