Language Matters

[Diakat]

New guide - intended to help medics foster positive relations.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/language-matters-language-and-diabetes/

 

[Deleted Account]

This week is Diabetes Week and there seems to be a theme of talking about diabetes: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Get_involved/Diabetes-Week

 

[Juicyj]

Hi @Diakat Language is so very important when dealing with health conditions, I really hope all health professionals who deal with diabetic patients have had the opportunity to access and read this.

My personal issue is that we have to stop saying things like 'test' which then becomes a gauge for getting good/bad results, people can easily feel judged already when dealing with a condition where every decision is based on a blood glucose test, but even using this word then sets a train of thinking which is associated with positive/negative feelings.

 

[Diakat]

Everyone on the forum knows that word choice is important. The trouble with medical people is that we can often feel judged, not supported.
Let's hope this step helps us all have better interactions.

 

[jlarsson]

Top of the list should be to make an actual flowing conversation and not some dull Q&A where you already know the questions and will have your answers ready with no need to share or steer the questions or answers in any other direction that in many cases will be more useful for both the doctor/nurse and the patient.

 

[dancer]

I really don't mind the language healthcare professionals use, as long as they're talking to me, and not their stereotype of a diabetic. They've got to remember that we are all different, and what is good advice for the last patient, won't necessarily be good advice for the next.

 

[Jenny15]

I really don't mind the language healthcare professionals use, as long as they're talking to me, and not their stereotype of a diabetic. They've got to remember that we are all different, and what is good advice for the last patient, won't necessarily be good advice for the next.

I agree! Words are just words and have little if any power over me. But treating me with basic respect and as an individual is paramount. Individualised care is at the heart of good medical practice regardless of diagnosis, and has been for centuries. The bureaucratic "system" (in whichever country we live) increasingly tries to drag doctors away from it.

A lot of doctors quit the profession because of it, which is a huge shame for them, for patients and society as a whole. Not to mention a waste of the fortune spent training them, and the effect on the already severe workforce shortage (in every country).

I've found a GP who practices individualised medicine safely in the traditional way and I'm hanging onto him for dear life!