“‘The Lab Lost Your Sample’ Is Code”: 25 Things Doctors Prefer To Always Hide From Patients

There are several online threads with medical professionals opening up about the untold secrets of their jobs, and even unveiling some dark mysteries, so we selected several dozen truly interesting facts and stories.

From the little secrets of the medical profession and honest admissions that doctors don’t know everything about their job to dark medical mysteries and hilariously funny memoirs and tales — please feel free to read this selection of stories, made for you by Bored Panda!

What does the average person, who doesn’t often end up in the hospital, really know about the work of doctors and nurses? Where do we get this knowledge and these facts? Most likely, it’s a variety of medical movies and TV series, from “ER” and “The Pitt” to “Scrubs” (yes, medical sitcoms can sometimes be incredibly meticulous with the facts!).

But no matter how accurate or realistic a series about everyday hospital life may be, it’s first and foremost entertainment. So, it’s quite possible that our selection of facts and stories today will dispel some misconceptions about doctors’ work or provide you with some useful knowledge.

A significant portion of the stories told here concern various euphemisms and indirect formulations designed to achieve two main goals. The first is to reduce the trauma of communicating health conditions to patients and their families. The second, closely related, is a special “code language” used by medical professionals to convey information to colleagues in the presence of patients.

Basically, this is like the myth of the tooth fairy or Santa Claus (I do hope we’re not giving anyone any spoilers here) when communicating with kids. Because most patients are, in a way, also sort of kids when they arrive at the hospital. Adult kids, for whom medical professionals are responsible.

However, MDs are advised to avoid precisely such euphemisms when communicating with kids. “Children are more likely to be concrete thinkers and less likely to pick up on the nuances of a euphemism,” this dedicated study, published at Prime Scholars, says. And yet, a peculiar code language exists among medical professionals — and stories about it are also included in our collection.

Many doctors, in one way or another, must also be good psychologists when communicating with patients or their loved ones. It’s generally accepted that clinicians should employ so-called “compassionate communication” as part of the treatment process.

For example, many researchers compile lists of “never words,” the use of which can worsen patients’ psychoemotional states. In a recent study published on the Mayo Clinic website, the authors note that despite progress in treating many diseases, including cancer, patient fear remains a significant factor.

“Because seriously ill patients and their families are understandably frightened, they ‘hang’ on every word their doctor says,” Medical Xpress says, quoting one of the study authors. “Serious illness is not only a matter of physical suffering, but also emotional suffering. Doctors’ behavior, including their verbal and nonverbal communication, can exacerbate or reduce emotional suffering.”

In any case, we sincerely hope that the stories and facts presented in this collection will not only be interesting but also useful for you. Anyway, now, when watching a medical series, you’ll probably better understand the characters’ motivations and words. And, well, just reading two and a half dozen interesting stories will also be quite captivating, right?