When A Doctor Goes To See Another Doctor, Do They Converse In Medical Jargon?

This question was originally posted on Quora.com and was answered by Glenn Herman, 45 years a physician, a reader for longer




For many years, I never told a new doctor that I was a physician. I saw only doctors with good reputations, and I didn’t want to do anything that would alter their care.

After a very long time, I accepted that I was getting long winded explanations of things that I already knew. This became annoying, and I now tell new doctors that I am a physician and that I “speak their language.” Medical lingo makes it much easier to speak among people who know the language.

Here’s the thing. You look at a textbook and see a subject heading written in bold letters. Then a full page of writing explains the meaning and the uses of the that bold print. If we can both speak using mostly subject heading, we can communicate more completely, faster, and with fewer errors.

I used to insisted that the residents speaking with patients had to completely explain the meaning of each word that they didn’t know when they were 12 years old. Among themselves, they always used the more efficient medical terminology. Actually the residents often made me smile, by the slang that they used along with the medical terminology.

People who are not into the lingo should not attempt to learn it unless they want the doctor’s eyes to bulge while they are trying to keep themselves from giggling.

If someone learns a medical topic very well the lingo will be right there.

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