Welcome back, everyone!
I hope you had the opportunity to practice some of the scripts from my last blog to connect with your patient. Please share your stories or experiences with me- I love hearing about them.
This week I would like to share a few strategies to improve communication with patients by cutting through the jargon (the medical terms and everyday language we as healthcare practitioners use to speak to each other). This is especially important in our patient care, as many of us navigate through culturally diverse patient landscapes. With the world getting so much smaller, we often face the challenge of communicating with patients who may not share the same primary language as we do, and keeping things simple helps them understand what we need from them, what we have found, and how we plan to fix it.
No, it doesn’t mean “dumbing down” information which may come across as condescending or offensive to a patient, but translating medical terms into a language that your patient understands.
So here are a few strategies you can use to translate medical terms to a patient in a way that helps them process and understand what they are being told. This can allay their fears, help them come to terms with the diagnosis or outcome, and encourage them to make changes or adhere to treatment they may need.
Strategy 1: The Proactive Swap (Stop Using Jargon at Source)
Use plain language from the start.
Instead of: “You have hypertension”, you could say “Your blood pressure is consistently higher than we’d like it to be.” This uses descriptive phrases instead of Latin/Greek terms.
OR
Instead of: “We need to rule out an MI,”, you could say “We need to check and make sure that you are not having, or didn’t have a heart attack.” State what you are looking for in direct terms (even though it might sound scary), then explain.
Use common directional words, e.g., opposite, instead of contralateral.
Choose Anglo-Saxon over Latin-based terms. e.g., sleepy vs drowsy.
Use the common, shared cultural term, e.g., broken bone, instead of fracture.
These guidelines also allow for patients who may not speak English as their first language, so keeping it simple without losing the importance of what you are conveying is key.
Strategy 2: The “Chunk & Check” Method (For Complex Information)
Break information into tiny, digestible pieces and verify understanding after each chunk, not at the end.
Strategy 3: The “What It Is & What It’s Not” Frame.
This is crucial for scary diagnoses or findings. It prevents the patient’s mind from jumping to the worst conclusion.
For a Lung Nodule: “The scan showed a small spot on your lung.”
What it is: It’s a very common finding. Most of these are old, scar-like areas from a past infection you didn’t even notice.
What it’s not: This does not mean you have lung cancer. Our job now is to check it over time to see which category it falls into.”
For “Abnormal Cells” (e.g., Pap Smear): “The test found some cells that aren’t following the normal rule book.
What it is: It’s your body’s early warning system telling us to take a closer look.
What it’s not: This is not cancer. It means we have a chance to prevent a problem long before it could become one.”
What happens if you do slip up and use Jargon?
The “Oops, Let Me Translate” Script:
“I’m sorry, I just used medical shorthand there. Let me say that again in a clearer way. When I said ‘you’re febrile,’ all I mean is ‘you have a fever.’ And ‘tachycardic’ just means ‘your heart is beating faster than normal’ because your body is working hard to fight this off.”
Why this recovery is powerful: It doesn’t shame the patient for not knowing; it takes responsibility for unclear communication. This builds immense trust.
A Mnemonic for Your Audience: JAR-JAR BINKS (A memorable, humorous way to recall the steps)
- Justify & Jettison (Do you need the term? If not, drop it.)
- Analogy (Find a universal comparison.)
- Reframe (“What it is / what it’s not”)
- Jargon Check (After every 1-2 sentences.)
- Ask for Their Words (Teach-back: “What’s your understanding?”)
- Recover if you slip (“Let me translate that.”)
- Break it into Chunks
- Illustrate (Draw, show, demonstrate)
- Avoid the Latin/Greek (Use plain English)
- Keep it Short
- Story over Stats (e.g., “This helps most people get back to gardening” vs. “It has a 65% efficacy rate.”)
This framework gives healthcare workers concrete tools, not just advice. It positions you not as a critic, but as the expert who provides the solution to a near-universal.
Please leave your comments below on what tools work for you when communicating with your patients.
It would be wonderful to hear from those healthcare practitioners who have diverse patient populations with different languages. What challenges do you face getting the healthcare message across?
Fathima