"this pleasant 44 year old"

[ticandtoc]

I've used private doctors twice over the past 10 years, most recently last week - and on both occasions the doctor has sent a letter to my GP starting with "this delightful 34 year old" and "this pleasant 44 year old". It has always struck me as an odd way for a doctor to describe a patient but a friend told me it's kind of a code between doctors just informing them that the patient isn't a pain in the derriere or.... ? Does that make sense? Anyone know if this is true?

Just curious.

Pleasant seems to be the norm, delightful means you've made a friend .

You only need to worry if you get 'interesting case' or 'challenging story'.

No idea about code, i doubt it.
but it is usual.

NHS doctors do the same though

they are not allowed to give too much away, as notes are available to be read by patient.

Thanks - cookiepants - it was a male doctor giving me a breast exam who said I was "delightful" - I hear he was struck off some time later!!! :-0

Let's hope I never see "interesting case"...!

I saw one once that said "this interesting gentleman has presented a challenging clinical course"
Yep he was a PITA

Absolutely standard. At least you didn't get 'This long-suffering 44 year-old' which is code for pain in the arse.

It makes me laugh out loud too! Never really understood whether pleasant is meant to be code or a compliment. Or if, as you say, it's just a way of saying 'this one won't bite your head off and disagree with everything you say just because they've looked up their symptoms on the internet'!

I was referred to as 'this young lady' in my most recent notes f rom the hospital.

I am 46

I think I was 'charming' or 'delightful' when referred to a private gynae - can't remember which, and only have copies of the letters from the gynae and not gp.

I did have a 'fantastic' pelvic floor squeeze

I took it as meaning 'nice but dim'

Quite recently, I saw my medical report from about 30 years ago when I nearly broke my neck in a rugby game as teenager.

The doctor's report said: "The patient was concerned about his future ability to play the game and I reassured the lad".

I also saw my medical report from when I was 3 months old. I had bacterial meningitis and almost died. The doctor visited my mother who was breast feeding me and undoubtedly suffering severe PND. The doctor (a man) said: "Mother and baby doing fine, I told her to keep going and all would be well.'"

A private doctor recently described my children as 'charming' in a formal letter to a consultant.

A doctor I briefly knew called every child Beautiful, and often remarked on their blue eyes and hair colour

And I thought it was just me

It did make me laugh. Not many people call me pleasant.

I often refer to 'delightful' children in my reports.
Its because I think they are

Plus I reckon parents get a bit fed up reading list of all the things their children can't do.

All doctors do this, I think.

I always get "this 43 year old Gp's wife" and I think it's a warning - she and her dh know their stuff kind of thing.

Yes my ds has had a lot of referrals. The letters between consultants and gp refer to him as "this delightful young man" and such like - he has just turned 2!

I had one that said something like "patient is highly anxious to gain treatment" and highly anxious was underlined. From her attitude I think it was code to say "pain in my fucking arse, maybe you can fob the silly mare off", but to be fair I had been waiting over a year to see someone for a distressing and painful issue, and I was beyond highly anxious.

From a few years working as a medical secretary, in my experience what your friend said is entirely true!

It's on the majority of GP to consultant referrals

I was referred to as a "pleasant primagravida" in a consultant's referral letter - I assumed it was code for "first time pregnant woman who's not a pain in the arse". Took it as a compliment

I recently had "pleasant 64 year old" I'm actually in my twenties so I'm either not ageing well or they made a bit of a typo!

And YY to mentioning if the pt has any links to the medical world - very often incredibly tenuous, "I would be grateful for your review of this delightful xx year old patient who is the neighbour of your cleaner's dad's dog's vet".

Sometimes to pre warn that the pt knows lots about their condition but most often it's in a bid to try and bump up the queue with our secret "staff slots" (which don't exist btw).

Yes, I have worked in outpatients!!

I have had "pleasant" a few times in mental health referrals and I often wondered if it were significant!

I was asked a few week ago "Are you a medical doctor?" by a new GP in our surgery in a fairly condescending tone.

I said "No I have PhD in statistics and MA in biochemistry, since you ask".

That always frightens them. All medical students hate statistics and fear biochemistry.

A friend of mine noticed during labour that "BOTH PARENTS BARRISTERS" had been written in Very Large Capitals across the top of her maternity notes. She assumed that this was code for "...so you'd better not screw this one up or it'll get expensive..."