Maybe life is happening: the power of language in patient hand-offs
“But if thought corrupts language, language can also corrupt thought.”
– George Orwell
The “difficult” family
At 2 a.m., on my first night shift as a pediatric resident, a patient, Casey, transferred from another hospital. She had a rare, progressive chronic illness, was medically complex, and was currently receiving treatment for an acute systemic infection. Shortly after she arrived, she became difficult to arouse. When I asked her mother questions, I was …
