This one is mild, but it's been annoying me none-the-less and it happened every time I was in the hospital last week. Why is it that some people tend to automatically adopt an I'm-talking-to-a-toddler quality when they're addressing elderly people? Or sick kids, for that matter? Nurses, it appears to me, are the worst offenders, although I've certainly seen social workers do it too. You know what I'm saying...voice up several octaves and decibels, inserting inappropriate endearments, that patronizing tone in general....It makes me crazy. "Ok, sweetie, I need you to lift your head up....THERE you go....."
"I'm just going to give you a little shot now, all right honey? This might hurt just a bit...."
"Is there anyone we can call, Ms. Anderson? Honey, I know you're scared...."
"She's here to talk to you, all right sugar? Don't be afraid to just tell her what's on your mind."
It just seems so....insulting. If I was elderly I wouldn't want to be addressed like I'm a child. And when I was an older kid, I certainly didn't like being treated like I was a baby.
Why is it that some professionals seem to think this way of addressing another is appropriate? Is it their version of "professional"? Or is it a primal response--some sort of "care taker" light that automatically illuminates when they are in the role of caring for someone who is vulnerable?
To me it feels as if you're almost invoking a "victim response" from your patient, client, what-have-you when you treat them this way. And this response from the client, of course, gives the "giver" more power: You need. I save.
I always try to make a conscious effort to talk to people like, well, people. I'm sure I'm not always successful in this endeavor, but I'm aware of it. Is that so hard to do? Or am I just being surly? ->
Read the complete post at http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blogspot/tXCM/~3/413661924/i-promised-rant.html
Posted
7 Oct 2008 11:00 AM
by
Trench Warfare
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