WHAT DID YOU SAY?

[schlomo]

What Did You Say?

Much to my dismay when I am listening on my cell phone to various doctor office staff informing me about my medical concerns, I have trouble understanding exactly what these health professionals are saying. All too often their advice is mumbled, garbled, mangled, and exceedingly incoherent. How can I follow medical directives if I can’t accurately interpret the details concerning, for example, how to prepare for a procedure or where will it take place? I become so frustrated with this miscommunication that I insist that all of the data that I need to know is transcribed on My Chart, a much more accurate accounting than the trip wire of a phone conversation or a raspy, jumbled voice mail.

But yesterday was blissfully different: I got an easy-to- understand call from a health-care worker regarding my upcoming hernia operation. She asked me an abundance of routine questions, all of which she distinctly and effortlessly enunciated in steadily paced mellow tones. What a pronounced pleasure it was to listen to and respond to her with the same clarity as she so remarkably possessed.

I’d like this articulate woman to train all of the health staff in the art of clearly telephoning patients. I might even subsidize the workshops so that everyone administering or receiving medical treatment might benefit. Ah, to cure the abuse of language is a consummation devoutly to be wished.