Speaking the Language of Medicine. Do you need an interpreter?

Nursing schools and medical schools teach students everything there is to know about the body; how it works, what could potentially go wrong and how to treat it. A part of that learning seems to involve learning a whole new language; NPO, infarction, ostomy, ectomy, itis, and ischemia are common words. At first, students often struggle learning the language but over time, just like learning Spanish or Italian, it becomes a part of who you are. Even when playing the role of patient or caregiver, health care providers speak the language of medicine and are easily identified by other health care providers. I can remember when my daughters were little and had to have tubes in their ears having conversations with the nurses, physicians and anesthesiologists in the pre-op area. As soon as I said a word only spoken by health care providers such as NPO, or conscious sedation, they would immediately recognize me as a colleague. “Oh. Are you a nurse or doctor?” they would ask. Funny, I didn’t even realize that I was using the secret language!