Jargon Begone! List
The following jargon have been provided by the community. If you would like to contribute our jargon list please click on the Add to Jargon Begone! button.
Entry Date | What jargon term annoys you the most? | Why? |
---|---|---|
October 20, 2023 at 11:03 am | Touch base |
If you are not American on don't understand baseball, it has a totally different connotation. Trash it. |
October 20, 2023 at 10:56 am | DEFCON 5 |
All these military terms like DEFCON, HUMINT or CODE ORANGE which have crept into our daily lives need to be banned immediately. In the army they mean something. Running out of crisps is NOT a Code Red situation. |
October 20, 2023 at 10:50 am | Content |
Everything is 'content' now. It's a word which has democratised |
October 20, 2023 at 10:46 am | Dorsal |
It literally means back portion of the body. Why not say that instead of dorsal, especially when talking to patients who have never been to medical school? Nobody ever says 'my dorsal is killing me.' |
October 16, 2023 at 9:44 am | Build the plane why flying it |
stupid analogy to something that in reality can't be done |
September 19, 2023 at 4:14 pm | Consumers |
Because we are PEOPLE. Consumer gives the idea that I have had a choice in the services I 'consume'. How about 'person', 'people' or 'families' that access our service, or who have a lived experience. |
September 19, 2023 at 4:08 pm | AO's |
Because no-one outside of the government understands that means Administration Officers |
September 19, 2023 at 3:47 pm | PRN |
PRN - medication to be taken as required.... not helpful for mental health patients and no one can ever tell you what PRN actually stands for. |
August 9, 2023 at 12:53 pm | superficial |
It has a different meaning in plain English than in medical English, but doctors forget that |
February 10, 2023 at 11:18 am | HRT - Humam Resources Team |
It also stands for hormone replacement therapy and is at times very embarrassing. |
December 20, 2022 at 1:31 am | IX |
For instance, if your blinds have severe discolouration that does not go away |
November 6, 2022 at 6:08 pm | Dyspnea |
I can't even work out how to say it |
November 1, 2022 at 1:29 pm | Game Changer |
Over used. |
October 27, 2022 at 3:45 pm | Stand Up Meeting |
Some of us can't stand up |
October 26, 2022 at 2:44 pm | "Effectuate". As in: "We need to effectuate a change". |
Used by jargonists who seem to feel that simple, precise terminology is too revealing of their own simplicity. |
October 26, 2022 at 2:40 pm | "Normalcy" |
Whatever happened to good old "normality" ? |
October 26, 2022 at 2:38 pm | "Unarrive". As in: "Pt has unarrived clinic." |
Believe it or not, this piece of astonishingly inept Americlish has begun to enter usage in GP clinic admin software, no doubt spurred on by the equally American notion of "Unfriending" people on Facebook. Please don't allow it to take hold here! |
October 25, 2022 at 1:15 pm | integumentary |
such a freaking long word, a tongue twister meaning skin |
October 24, 2022 at 1:11 pm | Acopic (A-Cope-Ick) |
Meaning "Not coping, not tolerating well". Very frustrating because it makes a negative assumption about the patient that they are only presenting due to difficulty coping and not because they are actually unwell or needing assistance. It labels the patient before they can be thoroughly assessed and its stigmatising them to be the "anxious type" or "hyperchondriac". |
October 21, 2022 at 4:07 pm | Do some heavy lifting |
Pompous and self-indulgent |
Entry Date | What jargon term annoys you the most? | Why? |
Why should I pledge?
6 out of 10 of people in Australia have low health literacy.
Many Australians have trouble understanding and using information provided by organisations. They also have trouble navigating complicated systems like healthcare services.
When we use jargon, technical terms or acronyms, it is hard for people with low health literacy to understand and use information.
Pledge and take part in activities at your workplace. Make it easy for people with low health literacy to get better information and outcomes from services they use.
Pledge to Drop the Jargon
- Use plain language in all communication – with other staff and with clients
- Not use acronyms
- Explain medical and other technical terminology
- Check that information has been understood by your clients
- Work with a professional interpreter when your clients have low English proficiency
- Politely point out when your colleagues use jargon