I work in a team of 2. Today, the new woman I'm training up, she's been with us about 6 weeks, used the word spastic. It was in private, just the 2 of us in the room, and she was using it to describe herself not another person, as in "God, you nudged me, my writing looks like I'm a ...... (and I don't want to even WRITE the last bit. Awful!!
I immediately addressed it.... said "X, you can't use that word!! That's a bloody terrible word to use, you do know that right?!"
She said yeah, she knew, and brushed it off, said she wouldn't normally use it.
BUT, I'm thinking, so why then DID you use it? Plus, we have on our staff in the small hospital we work in, a lady with cerebral palsy. If she overheard such a term I would fully expect and HOPE she would make a formal complaint. But mainly, how bloody ignorant and how hurtful!!
So although I didn't let it go, I feel as her induction Buddy, I need to address it again, fully, and explain the above and why it is SO unacceptable. I was going to today but couldn't get her alone for a chat before I left without looking obvious we had a problem to the rest of the dept.
It might be relevant that I am not in a more senior position, simply training her?