to wonder why consultants comment on people's personalities?

It really doesn't mean anything. People always think it's a secret code, but it's not. It just means the appointment went well.

I have a really good memory and type up (or talk to text) immediately after the appointment under certain headings.

Unfortunately I think it was probably meant to convey an unhealthy over involvement …,

This!

DD2’s notes said she had an anxious mother. I was not anxious I was really cross. Wish I’d had the energy to insist they deleted it as 15 years later I am still pissed off about it!

It can be important in some specialities to specify handedness. In neurology, handedness can affect the presentation of a brain lesion for example and can have an effect on scans and EEGs.

In rheumatology or orthopaedics, it will indicate how functionally problematic a disorder on one side could be. It could also explain why somebody has a stress injury in one wrist but not the other.

It is not a compliment or an insult ;-)

I was a medical secretary previously, when a particular consultant didn’t say a pleasant person, we knew they hadn’t got along! It’s harmless and fills space rather than being completely factual and frankly boring.

I work in healthcare and get copied into lots of letters and reports where people are described as pleasant, delightful, lovely etc. Some of them really aren’t so I think it’s just something some doctors say as standard. I write reports myself and would never use that kind of description. I try to keep things factual.

It's definitely just to warn other doctors what you're like and keep a bit of track on whether there's any deterioration in your mood/appearance etc.

I've had 'casually dressed with clean and tidy nails and hair' which made me laugh and I've also had 'this pleasant and engaging lady who works as a solicitor' , probably code for be careful she may sue.

Once I got in a tempered discussion with a dermatologist and he wrote 'well informed and persistent' 😂

I think it is rather dated. I find younger consultants don’t describe patients in this way whereas older ones still do.

I'm usually referred to as "delightful" as I'm a doctor and make extra effort to be super-nice to everyone because I know what it's like.

I also often get referred to as "fellow clinician" even though I haven't practiced for a while anymore, which is effectively code for "don't bullshit her"

lol we got ‘amazing furry tail’ on ours 😂

If I write 'it was lovely to see X again' it usually means I'm thrilled my treatment made them better.

I’ve had both adjectives in the consultants’ letters to my GP.
It calms down my apprehension at the start of the letter and makes me feel like they see me as a human being with personality not just a patient.

After my last hospital-related thing, the consultant merely referred to me as 'Mrs AlteredStater' and used no adjectives at all! I had disagreed with him about treatment and had refused to proceed further. All politely but still against what he wanted. So I figure saying nothing descriptive is also saying something!

I saw my consultant a couple of weeks ago and apparently it was a pleasure to meet me again.

I guess it was better than the last time, when he saw my rolling around in agony and then routed around inside me for 4 hours.

I was called a 'very pleasant gentleman' - I was really pleased!

Haha, I got a copy of my cat’s vet history for an insurance claim and they’ve noted ‘gorgeous fur’ on his records

They are correct!

My dc had to attend a consultant paediatrician once as a baby and I was amused to read afterwards that he'd written in her notes "child's father is currently undertaking Phd in X university". Totally not relevant, and I hadn't even told him this myself! When she was being weighed prior to seeing the consultant the nurse asked me what I and my husband (who wasn't even in attendance) did and I told her. She obviously told the consultant at some stage, and he didn't feel that my lowly teaching job was worth recording.

Just remembered how rude some Consultants were back in the day.
I was preparing letters and notes for the next day clinic and one Lord God Almighty of one area of the alimentary tract had written to his counterpart. the God of another beginning ' This fat smoker is demanding your opinion on her dodgy, may need removing, Gall Bladder'
With a referral like that, I wonder if she received the treatment that she presumably needed.

Using this username as this is quite outing if my best friend is a MNer!

My orthopaedic consultant wrote a letter describing me as a ‘pleasant, right-handed nurse’ my best friend was so amused when I showed her the letter that she renamed me on her contact list and I am still saved as ‘pleasant, right-handed nurse’ to this day

Pleasant = agreeable patient, not rude, racist or difficult
Right-handed = I can only guess that the comment about my dominant hand was because I saw him for a problem with my right shoulder, but who knows!
Nurse = don’t fob her off because she will know

Do they have a God complex? It's quite patronising.

Could not disagree more. I have managed to be a successful hospital consultant, with great feedback from colleagues and patients, without ever having to describe someone as pleasant or otherwise.

Exactly!

It is all code, pleasant lady/gentleman basically means normal, not a nutter, all fine.

Other ways of referring to people that I have seen regularly include:
Delightful
Knowledgeable
Well informed
Lively child
Talkative/chatty
Reserved
Fragile
Anxious/worried
They are normally positive on the face of it but you have to read between the lines.

You sometimes see reference to the patients profession. This knowledgeable lawyer means watch your back they will test your knowledge and sue you if you make a mistake. Doctors often make it clear if the patient or their parent/partner is a fellow medic too for similar reasons.