By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    bowl of vegetable salad
    Raw Foods: benefits and harms
    November 9, 2021
    pros and cons of the keto diet
    Read This Before You Follow the Keto Diet
    May 18, 2022
    spinal cord injuries
    4 Potential Causes of Spinal Cord Injuries (and How to Seek Compensation)
    May 25, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    TBI: Some Surprising Statistics
    February 9, 2016
    Your Keys to Safer, Even More Secure Healthcare Cloud Services
    January 13, 2015
    4 Career Options in Healthcare Industry that Combine Big Data & Healthcare
    February 5, 2021
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 22, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 22, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 22, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Don’t Call Me a Health Care Provider: I’m a Doctor
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Medical Education > Don’t Call Me a Health Care Provider: I’m a Doctor
Medical EducationPolicy & Law

Don’t Call Me a Health Care Provider: I’m a Doctor

Michael Kirsch
Michael Kirsch
Share
5 Min Read
doctor
SHARE

doctorOne thing doctors like to do is to use fancy language.  Patients, however, want physicians to use simple terms.  Perhaps, using highfalutin language makes physicians feel more scholarly and important.  Of course, this bombast only confuses patients who may be too timid to respond that they don’t have a clue what we’re saying.  If your doctor is speaking in tongues, then ask for a translator.

doctorOne thing doctors like to do is to use fancy language.  Patients, however, want physicians to use simple terms.  Perhaps, using highfalutin language makes physicians feel more scholarly and important.  Of course, this bombast only confuses patients who may be too timid to respond that they don’t have a clue what we’re saying.  If your doctor is speaking in tongues, then ask for a translator. He’ll get the message.

Many professions have their own technical languages which is necessary for internal communications or scholarly work.  Beyond this, there is also a pomposity that drives this lexical elitism. 
 
In the medical profession, medical terms seem to offer no advantage over colloquial alternatives.  Yet, physicians want to ‘speak like doctors’, whatever that means.
 
Cool Medical Term            Lame Alternative
Thrombus                                    Clot
Stenosis                                        Narrowing
Cephalalgia                                  Headache
Transient Ischemic Attack   Mini-stroke
Nevus                                            Mole
Exanthem                                    Rash
Cholelithiasis                             Gallstones
Pyrosis                                         Heartburn
Epistaxis                                      Nosebleed
 
Folks following health care reform need their own glossary to explain the new lexicon.  I can’t keep this stuff straight and I’m in the business. One must be familiar with pay-for-performance, comparative effectiveness research, accountable care organizations, insurance exchanges, medical homes, pharmacy benefit managers and value-based pricing.  See how warm and fuzzy the medical profession has become? 
 
Here are a few antiquated terms that are rarely included in the medical policy and health care reform articles I peruse.
  • Compassion
  • Healing
  • Empathy
  • Caring
The new medical rhetoric is so sanitized, or should I say antiseptic, that it threatens to anesthetize the profession.  Want proof?  Look at how medical apparatchiks describe me.  I’m no longer a doctor or a physician.  I’m now a health care provider.   I’m not hung up on the doctor title.  I never introduce myself as ‘Dr.’, even to my patients.  But, to regard me as a health care provider attempts to redefine who I am and what I try to do.  It aims to circumvent the core of what doctoring should be – humanity.    While health care reformers can redact the term humanity, they can’t extract true humanity that must be the essence of the profession.  If we accept that we are health care providers, then we’re not doctors anymore.  When the government health care reformers and its minions are speaking in tongues, let’s demand a translator.   
 
(doctor / shutterstock)
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

What Causes Inflammation? Comprehensive Look At The Causes and Effects of Inflammation

April 7, 2012
eHealthHealth careTechnology

Patients are Gaining Access to International Medicine Thanks to Big Data

February 9, 2018

Hospital Preparedness: Pay Now or Pay Later!

November 5, 2014

Can “Portfolio Theory” Be Applied to NIH Funding Decisions?

May 18, 2012
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?