| What jargon term annoys you the most? | Why? |
|---|---|
| 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. |
| chronic |
Because the general community do not understand it, I have heard it used as a substitute as bad eg I have asthma, it's chronic, they don't mean its an ongoing, always there condition, they mean its really bad. And then we here about health professionals, govt talking about chronic conditions - what do they general public think this means - really bad conditions. Oh mine is not that bad... |
| Stakeholders |
Because people holding stakes usually also hold a hammer. When talking about health or public services we hold people in our hands not stakes |
| AO's |
Because no-one outside of the government understands that means Administration Officers |
| acronyms |
Because many of them are not even familiar to nurses. They are coined by individuals and are not necessarily of common use. We need to remember about 6 out of 10 people in Australia have low or poor health literacy. |
| evidence-based practice |
because it means nothing to clients who just want a service |
| sciatica |
Because it means different things to everyone! |
| acopia |
Because it is: |
| Capacity Building |
Because capacity means take more on, not learn more skills. |
| active consideration |
As opposed to inactive consideration? just say consideration |
| asymptomatic |
As a health professional I understand that this means "without symptoms", but for my partner who doesn't have a health background and for whom English is not his first language, it meant that you have "a symptom". Imagine how different the Covid-19 health information sounded once he learnt that? I often wonder how many other people still don't understand this term, and who have been following an entirely differently set of Covid safety rules as a result (ie, "stay home if you have symptoms, but you can leave the house if you have a (one) symptom".) |
| CALD |
Aren't we all Culturally and Linguistically Diverse People? And who isn't the 'CALD' when we are delivering services and what to we call them? What/who is the Mainstream? It (may) creates an Us and Them binary polarity or opposition. |
| Ballpark |
Another American term which doesn't mean much elsewhere. |
| 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. |
| mechanical fall |
ALL falls are 'mechanical' and should have the causal factors identified! |
| Anything that is reduced to an acronym |
Acronyms are usually only understood by ‘inner circles’ so their use should be limited appropriately. |
| tachycardia |
A patient will understand "fast heart reate" more quickly - why say tachycardia then have to explain what it is? |
| Convo |
A conversation is a discussion between rational people |
| Gaming |
"Gaming" refers to playing games, either online or in real life. It is not "gambling" and should not be used as a weasel word to make gambling seem nicer or less threatening. Especially by governments. "Minister for Gaming"? Really? How about "Minister For Exploitation"? |
| What jargon term annoys you the most? | Why? |
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