The Language We Use
by Cancergeek
Many of us working in healthcare are required to take a special class called medical terminology.
A class that teaches us the Latin root words, meanings, and spellings of the language of medicine.
Words such as ipsilateral, decubitus, prone, bacteria, cardiology, ischemia, carcinogenic, colitis, and viscera.
As we progress from medical terminology in the clinical setting and begin to move into the business terminology used in the administrative setting of healthcare, the vocabulary changes.
We have to take another class to learn words, phrases and acronyms like ROI, productivity, efficiency, utilization, asset management, days cash on hand, and 30 day readmission.
Many of the clinicians and administrative leaders have been so far removed from the communities they serve that they continue to use the above language in their interactions.
Some physicians say, I’m sorry Ms Smith, you have cancer.
Another group of physicians may say, I’m sorry Ms Smith, you have breast cancer.
Other physicians may say, I’m sorry Ms Smith, you have stage 2B, invasive lobular carcinoma with lymph node involvement, T2N1M0.
It is not that any of the above deliveries are wrong or right, it is about understanding which delivery is best for the patient you are informing.
Are you using their language? Their native tongue? Are you communicating in the style, format, and mode that they prefer whether it is verbal, written, or maybe even images and pictures.
When I made the choice to use the “F” word in the name of my company, Good Fucking Health Care, that was part of my point.
To remind all of us that it is not about the language we use, but it is about the language the people, individuals, and patients we serve in our communities use.
We cannot continue to expect our communities to adopt and adapt to our language.
We cannot continue to use specialized clinical and administrative language and then complain when patients in our communities just don’t understand.
If we want to truly “engage” and “empower” our communities we will show up where they convene.
We will show up and learn the language our communities use to share their stories. We will speak in their native tongue. We will communicate in the communities preferred format. We will do all of the above on their time, at their pace, and to meet their expectations, not ours.
It’s not sexy. It’s not attractive. It’s not easy. It’s not simple. It’s cannot be done in one day.
It’s work.
It’s the fucking hard work that not everyone wants to do because it takes time.
Time not spent in the 4 walls of the medical industrial complex.
Time spent in our hoods, our barrios, our tribal lands, our rehabilitation and transitional homes, our mosques, our community rec centers. Time spent in the places we don’t often go because it’s not part of our personal norm.
It is time healthcare leaders cease managing and begin leading.
To become a leader it takes time, hard work, and grit.
To be the leader and change the status quo of healthcare it takes even more time because you need to listen to the entire community you serve.
The people. La Raza.
Leading by listening. Listening to understand. Understand to articulate the communities needs. Needs that will become our roadmaps for action.
Actions that will deliver care at the N of 1.
As always feel free to email me directly at cancergeek@gmail.com or connect with me on Twitter or Instagram as cancergeek.
~Cancergeek
Enjoy this ode to my La Raza:
