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Original poster

What does it mean when a DR or nurse says this??

118 replies

Upsidedownsouffle · 14/08/2022 01:40

I saw a consultant 2 weeks ago at the hospital and could see my notes on the screen and saw the referral letter said ‘Upsidedownsouffle is a pleasant (age)year old lady’

just to clarify I’ve got a great GP and have never had any bother whatsoever. Thankfully I’ve rarely had to go, but anytime I have gone they’ve been really helpful and solved the problem or helped in any way eg referring me. I always say thank you and sorry thousands of times in a single conversation (I’m one of those people!) and I probably come across as really annoying but I have a phobia of coming across as rude or obnoxious to people.

im just purely curious as I’ve never actually seen a referral letter- when it says pleasant, does that mean the GP genuinely thought you were a nice person? Or is it just an automatic thing and it doesn’t mean anything?

when I read it I was like awww that’s nice maybe I’m not the rude horrible person I’m so scared of being, then I realised it’s probably just an automatic thing and doesn’t mean anything 😂

OP posts:
Plutoisaplanet · 14/08/2022 01:42

Standard doctor speak that you are not a PITA/difficult patient

Chouetted · 14/08/2022 01:49

It doesn't mean you were unusually pleasant, but it does mean you weren't rude or obnoxious.

GrimDamnFanjo · 14/08/2022 01:52

That's interesting. I too was described as pleasant in a referral letter once...

GreenLunchBox · 14/08/2022 01:57

They usually write this in clinic letters. I've never seen them use a negative adjective, although I have seen no adjective used and do wonder what went on!

Chouetted · 14/08/2022 01:59

There are adjectives other than pleasant in use. One of mine described me as "intelligent", which I figured was a euphemism for "asks awkward questions".

Coachwork · 14/08/2022 02:01

Completely normal. I have several hospital consultants and all of their letters following appointments open with the fact I'm pleasant.

PicketRingFenced · 14/08/2022 02:05

They all write this it's just means you're normal

hashbrownsandwich · 14/08/2022 02:09

It's just standard stuff really, means you cooperate basically.

Yutes · 14/08/2022 02:11

It doesn’t mean anything. It’s a standard polite but form referral letter that a typist uses and a GP or Dr signs.

Yutes · 14/08/2022 02:12

Formal. Not just form. Sorry. But it’s a standard formal template, was what I meant.

Fizzorgin · 14/08/2022 02:12

I'd be quite pleased if mine said that tbh - suspect mine is more along the the lines of 'the patient is a cantankerous wotsit struggling with the heat and peri menopause and likely to go off at any given moment' Grin

Obvs I'm only kidding I'd like to think I'm lovely to every single over worked and under paid medical professional I see but I'm still overheating 😂

PeloAddict · 14/08/2022 02:25

I had "determined and driven" once
What he actually meant was what he said to me I think which was "wilful" Blush

Ravenpuff93 · 14/08/2022 02:27

Yeah, I second everyone else. I work in the NHS in mental health and every GP referral we get always says a variant of “I recently saw this charming man/woman…” and it seems standard and a way of communicating they were not rude, or, in clinical notes speak “agitated”

Ravenpuff93 · 14/08/2022 02:28

See also if any part of your anatomy is examined and a letter refers to it as “unremarkable”, this is not an insult, but a positive, meaning no abnormalities were found!

HoppingPavlova · 14/08/2022 02:31

It means you are ‘normal’, not a pita or likely to tell the referring specialist how to do their job etc. It is not some special thing they put there just for you because they were stunned by your ‘pleasantness’.

If this all takes up a lot of mental space for you, and you feel the need to say please and thank you constantly throughout a consultation (which is actually annoying), maybe consider some professional assistance to get you over this aspect as it must be tiring.

Original poster
Upsidedownsouffle · 14/08/2022 02:33

Ravenpuff93 · 14/08/2022 02:28

See also if any part of your anatomy is examined and a letter refers to it as “unremarkable”, this is not an insult, but a positive, meaning no abnormalities were found!

Sorry but this has made me laugh so much😂😂 It’s good to know it means everything is normal!

OP posts:
Original poster
Upsidedownsouffle · 14/08/2022 02:40

HoppingPavlova · 14/08/2022 02:31

It means you are ‘normal’, not a pita or likely to tell the referring specialist how to do their job etc. It is not some special thing they put there just for you because they were stunned by your ‘pleasantness’.

If this all takes up a lot of mental space for you, and you feel the need to say please and thank you constantly throughout a consultation (which is actually annoying), maybe consider some professional assistance to get you over this aspect as it must be tiring.

I never thought they were stunned by my pleasantness! I just wasn’t sure if it was a thing that was for patients unlikely to cause trouble, or if it was just an automatic thing on letters. I’d never seen it before so I had no idea and was just being curious!

yeah I know it’s annoying but it’s the way I am, I’ve had professional help already but my previous therapist actually told me that lots of people say thank you and please too often so I’m definitely not alone. I’m not an anxious person and I genuinely do mean it when I say it though so it is genuine i suppose! I don’t think I’m that annoying but I appreciate some people might not like it but it’s just my personality to an extent!

OP posts:
Rummikub · 14/08/2022 02:40

I hardly ever say please but still heard the doctor refer me and he said ‘pleasant’.
But what happens if you have an off visit or a doctor that isn’t nice and so you then have to be a bit more pushy? Will my notes now say ‘wilful’ for evermore??

inkblink · 14/08/2022 02:53

I'm a GP and actually this is one of my pet peeves in letters, because it shouldn't matter if you're pleasant or not, you should receive the same standard of care.
(but it does mean you're not a PITA!)

NaughtyDaddyPig · 14/08/2022 03:08

HoppingPavlova · 14/08/2022 02:31

It means you are ‘normal’, not a pita or likely to tell the referring specialist how to do their job etc. It is not some special thing they put there just for you because they were stunned by your ‘pleasantness’.

If this all takes up a lot of mental space for you, and you feel the need to say please and thank you constantly throughout a consultation (which is actually annoying), maybe consider some professional assistance to get you over this aspect as it must be tiring.

Yours won't say pleasant so you need never worry yourself.
I'd probably write you were abrupt and appeared confrontational at times, perhaps anxious.

Topseyt123 · 14/08/2022 03:10

It means you are a normal person, not an arsehole.

Fraaahnces · 14/08/2022 03:40

There are a hell of a lot of aggressive and entitled arseholes, and you’re not one of them. You now have medical evidence to prove it! 😆

WiddlinDiddlin · 14/08/2022 03:43

Oh fuck.

Bloody certain mine have never said pleasant. Ever. I can well believe thats code for 'is a PITA who asks awkward questions and please can someone else see her next time'.

But yeah its standard phrasing, ive never had unremarkable either because im absolutely remarkable in a number of ways, not least that I am still bloody well alive!

sashh · 14/08/2022 04:27

GreenLunchBox · 14/08/2022 01:57

They usually write this in clinic letters. I've never seen them use a negative adjective, although I have seen no adjective used and do wonder what went on!

My favorite one was, "you will not thank me for referring this patient".

That was before patients received a copy of their letters.

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