你曾被医生的话“伤害”到吗？| 双语精选

译介 2023-06-20

收录于合集 #双语精选 46个

一直以来，医生在给患者看病的时候往往会用一些常用表达，国外也不例外。最近，剑桥大学的两位医学博士发文表示，医生应避免使用贬低患者的语言。有哪些表达可能会贬低患者呢？我们一起看文章。

GPs are urged not to use language that could belittle patients: Doctors should stop using phrases like 'sending' home patients who present a 'complaint'

呼吁全科医生切勿使用可能贬低患者的语言：比如“把出现‘小病小痛’的患者‘送’回家”等措辞

Woke medics are calling for a revamp of language used by doctors so it does not 'belittle' patients. Common medical phrases like 'take' a test or 'send' someone home may potentially make patients feel 'childlike', they said. Instead of saying things like the patient 'denies' chest pain, doctors should use the word 'reports' so it does not sound like the patient is being doubted.

有警觉性的医务人员正呼吁医生改进自己的用语，这样就不会因用语不当而“贬低”患者。他们认为像“测一下”或者“‘送’某人回家”这样看病时常见的用语可能会让患者感到“像小孩一样被管教”。医生应该使用“主述（病情）”这个词，而不要用患者“否认”有胸痛症状之类的表达，“否认”听起来像是在质疑患者所说的话。

The recommendations were made by consultant physician Dr Zoe Fritz and junior doctor Dr Catriona Cox, both from the University of Cambridge. They laid out an argument for more empowering language in an editorial published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

这些建议是由来自剑桥大学的会诊医生佐伊·弗里茨（Zoe Fritz）博士和实习医生凯特丽奥纳·考克斯（Catriona Cox）博士提出的。两人曾在《英国医学杂志》（BMJ）发表了一篇社论，对更能增强自信心的语言做了讨论。

The changes are 'not a matter of political correctness', the medics argue.

他们认为，用语方面的改进“和政治正确无关”。

Simple words or phrases, both verbally and in written notes, can 'insidiously' affect the relationship between doctors and their patients, they claim. Words like 'send' a patient home or 'take' a patient's temperature emphasise the doctor's position of power and may seem patronising, they said.

他们说，口头和书面记录用到的简单词汇或短语会“潜移默化”地影响医患关系。像“‘送’病人回家”或“测一下”病人体温这样的词语强调了医生拥有控制权，可能听起来有些居高临下。

To say that a patient presented with a 'complaint' also carries negative connotations, the medics argue. Words like 'problem' or 'concern' should be used instead because they are more sympathetic to patients.

此外，说患者出现“小病症”也有负面含义。应该用类似“身体问题”或“有身体担忧”这样的词来代替，因为使用这些词更能体现医生对患者的同情心。

Much of the language highlighted here is deeply ingrained in medical practice and is used unthinkingly by clinicians, Dr Fritz and Dr Cox write.

弗里茨博士和考克斯博士在文中还提到，这里强调的很多语言在医疗工作中根深蒂固，临床医生会不假思索，脱口而出。

Clinicians should consider how their language affects attitudes and choose language that facilitates trust, balances power, and supports shared decision making, they said. It comes amid a huge row over the working hours of family doctors, the 'postcode lottery' of GP access and face-to-face appointments.

他们说，临床医生应该考虑他们所使用的语言会如何影响态度，而且应选择那些能够促进医患信任、平衡两者关系以及支持共同决策制定的语言。与此同时，在家庭医生工作时长、全科医生相关“邮编幸运医疗”政策（在英国指能享受到的医保程度或方式取决于居住地）以及面对面预约等问题上，医患也存在巨大的分歧。

The General Medical Council — which regulates doctors — waded into the row yesterday, telling doctors they have a duty to respect a patient's wishes for face-to-face appointments in new guidance. GPs should agree with a patient what type of appointment would best suit their 'needs and circumstances', the new guidance says.

负责监管医生的英国医学总会（General Medical Council）昨天也介入了此事，新的指导意见指出，医生有责任尊重患者面对面预约的意愿。新的指导意见表示，全科医生应该与患者协商哪种类型的预约最适合他们的“需求和情况”。

In their editorial, Dr Cox and Dr Fritz suggested doctors should address patients with more respect.

两位博士在他们的社论中建议，医生对待患者应该更加尊重。

Language that suggests a patient is childlike is particularly common with conditions like diabetes, they said, highlighting the term 'poorly-controlled diabetes' used to describe someone with consistently high blood-sugar levels.

他们说，让患者感觉像孩子一样被对待的语言在糖尿病等疾病治疗中特别常见。尤其是“血糖控制差”一词，常用来描述血糖水平一直很高的人。

'Patients do not like many of these commonly used phrases, and some are associated with problematic changes in the attitudes of healthcare workers.'

“这些常用短语中有许多是患者不喜欢的，其中一些用语的使用与医护人员态度的变化有关，这种态度的变化往往引发医患问题。”

Terms like 'compliance' and 'non-compliance' with medication are authoritarian, the authors claimed. They wrote: 'There is an authoritarianism, for example, in talking about patients not being "allowed" certain foods by their doctors.

像患者“遵从”和“不遵从”用药这样的用语有命令的语气。他们还说到：“比如，在提及医生不‘允许’患者吃某些食物时，具有一种权威性。”

'Although patients can find such language upsetting or frustrating, some also adopt a childlike narrative, describing the effect of being "naughty" or "good" on their blood sugars, or recounting being 'scolded' by healthcare professionals.' Phrases such as 'denies chest pain' should be replaced with 'reports no chest pain', they said.

“尽管患者会觉得这样的语言令人心烦或沮丧，但有些患者也会用孩子般的方式来描述自己因‘不遵医嘱’或‘表现良好’影响了血糖控制，或者讲述自己被医护人员‘责骂’的经历。”他们说，像“否认胸痛”这样的短语应替换为“主诉没有胸痛”。

The authors said: 'Language that belittles, infantilises, or blames patients runs counter to the collaborative relationships we are trying to foster through initiatives such as shared decision making.

两位博士称：“对患者进行贬低、责备或对待患者如孩子一般的语言与我们试图通过共同决策等举措来建立合作关系的初衷背道而驰。”

'We encourage all to reflect on the words and phrases currently used in practice, in particular considering whether they hamper or help to establish a genuinely collaborative therapeutic relationship.'

“我们鼓励所有人反思目前在医疗实际工作中使用的词汇和短语，应特别考虑这些语言是否会阻碍或有助于建立真正的合作治疗关系。”

今日词汇

belittle / bɪˈlɪt(ə)l / vt. 轻视；贬低

revamp / ˈriːvæmp / v. 修改，翻新，改进

political correctness 政治正确

insidiously / ɪnˈsɪdiəsli / adv. 阴险地；隐伏地

authoritarian / ɔːˌθɒrɪˈteəriən / adj. 独裁主义的；权力主义的

authoritarianism / ɔːˌθɒrɪˈteəriənɪzəm / n. 独裁主义；权力主义

infantilise / ɪnˈfæntɪlaɪz / vt. 使幼儿化；将当作幼儿对待（亦写作infantilize）

翻译讨论

'sending' home patients who present a 'complaint'

由于文章与“贬低语言”相关，因此小编第一时间看到“send home”想到的是“打发回家”，但考虑到“打发”一词过为贬义，且平时大多数医生并不会如此说话，因此最后翻成了比较中立的“送回家”。