Language can convey meaning and shape understanding. It can stigmatize and label or it can empower and affirm. Therefore, Ms. Hendley would like to be identified as a person first and not as a “diabetic patient.“
As
healthcare professionals. it is important to think about the language we
use when referring to or writing about people with long term conditions
such as diabetes. We must consider if they would find the language we use in referring to them empowering
or disempowering?
This
brief but spectacular essay is applicable to many conditions or
situations that we encounter in the persons who consult us as physicians. See: "Are You Well Controlled?"
No comments:
Post a Comment