Courtesy of my friends at Webster dictionary---
Rude: 1. discourteous or impolite, esp in a deliberate way; 2. without culture, learning, or refinement; 3. rough in manners or behavior
I was told today, by a patient's family member in triage, "you don't have to be rude." Now, while I will admit to being direct and concise in my speakings to many people on the other side of the plexiglass partition, I have never actually been rude. Even as much as I've wanted to, or as many times as I've near bitten my tongue clean off keeping from saying what was REALLY on my mind.
I simply told this woman, the mother of the 20-something grown woman patient, that "I don't need your (transfer) papers right now; keep ahold of them and they'll take it in the back." When she attempted to give the papers to me a second time, I stated again "no, ma'm, I don't need those yet. I can look at them when I call you back if I need to. I know why you're here; the other hospital called and gave me report already."
I fail to see how that was, by definition, rude. I said ma'm, and I was neither without culture or learning, nor was I discourteous or impolite. I didn't tell her to sit down, shut the hell up, and mind her own damn business, like I really wanted to. Or that if I wanted her stupid discharge paperwork from the half-ass hospital she was transferred from, I would have asked for it. Nor did I tell her that if she hadn't taught her grown child how to eat half a cow at once or do nothing besides sit around watching soap operas all day, she probably wouldn't have the giant surgical ass abscess that she has now.
That would have been rude.
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3 comments:
"giant surgical ass abscess?" Sounds like a highly complex medical term. Always knew soap operas were dangerous to watch - they should come with a Surgeon Generals warning!
Aaah, yes. This feeds into my favorite professional fantasy: the hope that somewhere, someday, I might be granted with the immunity to spend just one shift saying the things we all really want to say, not sugarcoating in the interest of customer service or plain old ass-kissing, just telling it like it is.
Yeah, I'll keep dreaming.
Fabulous......I know I work in retail, but the same situation has applied to me as well. They say your rude, but I was REALLY rude, then they would understand the distinction. LOL! Nice one Ally.
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