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

[Upsidedownsouffle]

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 😂

As a nurse I would say it means you are pleasant! Normally when we see this it gives us a heads up that you are a nice reasonable person who isn’t deliberately going to give us a hard time.

Pleasant means you spoke clearly then listened to the doctor taking advice generally. I've seen the word determined used and persistent too which I think means argued with the doctor (I know this particular lady, hence why I was enlarging the letters for her and helping her read them, I can believe it!)

The consultant treating me over the past few months thinks I’m delightful. I most definitely am. He’s very handsome and charming, which is a massive change from most of these senior middle-aged medics 😂

I’m a Dr. It means pretty much what it says- you are pleasant and sensible- i.e. a “normal patient”. There is something of an unwritten/ unofficial code. If the referring Dr says “pleasant/nice/lovely” it means the patient is not likely to be a tricky or complicated consultation. If they want to give the consulting Dr a clue that the patient being referred has a particular agenda/is a complex case/ complicated personality/ other reason the consultation may be complicated, then they try to give a hint.

I’m a retired doctor, and some of the letters from the 1970s/80s would make your hair curl! Patients didn’t get to see them, so my colleagues were… frank… in their comments. Even about each other!
One consultant, now dead, had to examine a consultant colleague, and then wrote tongue in cheek to his GP:
“This chap of limited intellect, from the rough end of Abernethy…”
GPs also warned consultants of potential litigation: “This well informed lawyer presented today with…”
The use of abbreviations led to occasional misunderstandings too. One British junior doctor, doing a placement in an American hospital, was hauled up for disciplinary action when he wrote:
“Presenting complaint: SOB” on the history sheet. Apparently in the US it doesn’t mean “short of breath”!

It means you aren’t a complainer/shouter/hypochondriac/aggressive person and the consultant won’t have to steel themselves before seeing you or alert security.

That's funny @Babdoc I fear in those days they might have added in Fat to my introduction too! There used to be an abbreviation for middle aged menopausal woman, IIRC, but I can't remember what it was!

Haha my gynaecologist wrote that in my referral!

This all sounds incredibly patronising tbh, and inappropriate. As a PP commented, this should have no impact on your standard of care/ your condition- so why is it mentioned? I work within another professional sector, and this absolutely never happens.

#same I felt weirdly complimented! I took it as "asked some pertinent questions" through the lens of optimism, and not "bloody awkward"!!

I always get "I met with this delightful young woman." Had that on 4 letters!

I always think it's funny

I get referrals from GPs which aren't seen by the patient I'm currently dealing with someone described as 'opinionated' which was a very useful warning of what to expect.

VicSynix, well I hope as well as giving them your expert advice ( which I am in no way questioning or disputing that it will be), you also listen to their 'opinion', given it will be regarding their own body, and their own choice.

I was once described as tenacious by a consultant. He was correct as I was very tenacious in getting the tests and the diagnosis I suspected. I was proved correct in the end.

As a PP commented, this should have no impact on your standard of care/ your condition- so why is it mentioned?

It has no impact on standard of care though. An utter arsehole will always have the same standard of care as someone who is a delight, as that’s the job. It’s just useful to mentally prepare yourself if there’s a potential difficult patient.

It’s also the same anywhere really. If there is a smartarse dickhead regular who gives the bar staff a hard time, then it’s normal for the bar staff to give a newcomer the heads up before they serve them. The person still gets served their beer, the bar staff ignore the idiocy and are falsely polite but forewarned means the new person is prepared/not taken aback when first confronted by said dickhead. No different with patients and no impact/implication for standard of care.

When I was a teenager I was referred to a consultant by my GP for something and I remember the consultant peering at me over his glasses and saying "The letter from your GP says "10HailMarys is a pleasant 14-year-old" ... well, I must congratulate you on that, because as a father of five children I've had found that pleasant 14-year-olds are few and far between." 😆

It’s a way that doctor’s ‘scmooze’ to sell you on to the other. It makes me cringe when I read referral letters with the ‘pleasant’ heading.