In a previous post, I shared an example of real charting that clearly included language that could be considered stigmatizing and biased, and today I wanted to review the words that make it so. Here is the progress note: “Patient is a 38-year-old black male who came to the medical unit via wheelchair after he allegedly had a seizure and fell off the top bunk….
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I recently re-listened to a discussion with nurse leaders working in the Idaho State Prison system on the Correctional Nursing Today podcast and I began to think about issues with clinical communication in our specialty. Correctional nurses, of course, are not the only nurses challenged to communicate effectively with providers to ensure safe and effective care delivery, but we must always…
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Words are powerful and influential, not only when spoken, but when written. As healthcare professionals, we must be diligent to use non-stigmatizing and non-biased language in our medical record documentation. I recently read a health record that documented a patient encounter that clearly conveyed the personal (negative) opinion of the health staff member about the patient and his presenting complaint….
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