By: Benjamin Kinnear MD PhD, Nicole Damari MD MS, Kate Jennings MD, Christine Zhou DO, Bi Awosika MD, Leslie Applegate MD, Danielle Clark MD MEd, Jackson Hearn MD, Matthew Kelleher MD MEd, Salima Sewani MD, Stephanie Thomas MD, Danielle Weber MD MEd, Eric Warm MD
A gap exists between our experiences and the words we have to describe them. As the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein wrote, “What can be shown cannot be said”.1 John Koenig explored this gap in his book, Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows, in which he poignantly and whimsically manifests new words to describe experiences and ideas that lack a term. Using his work as inspiration (and with his permission), our education team at the University of Cincinnati has explored this same gap, focusing on phenomena, moments, and feelings that occur in medicine and health professions education. Our previous editions can be found here and here, with our third list of words below. We hope some of these neologisms resonate with you, and we invite you to share your reflections, critiques, and feedback in the comments or with kinneabn@ucmail.uc.edu.
Enjoy the third set of entries from the Cincinnati Dictionary of Unspoken Moments!
- Forvigilation (for-VIJ-ih-LAY-shun)n. A sense of anxiety when your pager has been silent for hours and you repeatedly check that it is on and functioning properly
Etymology: English forward + Latin vigilare (stay awake) - Pagergeist (PAY-jur-guyst) n.The phantom sensation of a pager buzzing against your hip even when you’re not wearing one.
Etymology: English pager + German geist (ghost, spirit). - Cataglypsis (kat-uh-GLIP-sis ) n. The flash of red-hot frustration when your pager (or lanyard, badge reel, etc.) repeatedly catches on the arm of a chair as you stand up or sit down.
Etymology: Greek kata- (down, against) + aglypō (to snag, hook) + -sis (act or process) - Distrousion (dis-TROO-zhun) n.The mortifying yet unstoppable moment when your scrub pants begin to slip mid-sprint to a code blue; weighed down by pagers, pens, and sheer responsibility; but you keep running anyway.
Etymology: Latin dis- (apart, undone) + mock-Latin trousus (“pants”) + -ion (state or act). - Vocumbra (vos-UM-bruh) n. The anxiety that arises just before calling a consultant known for berating trainees; a mix of dread, mental rehearsal, and moral fortitude.
Etymology: Latin vox (voice) + umbra (shadow). - Eusoccus (yoo-SOCK-us) n.The sense of renewal when you slide on a clean pair of socks after a sleepless 24-hour shift. A small reminder that comfort and humanity can coexist with exhaustion.
Etymology: Greek eu- (good, well, true) + Latin soccus (light slipper, source of “sock”). - Pedoventis (peh-doh-VEN-tis) n.The moment a fine, ghostly cloud of particles floats in the air after removing a patient’s sock and you realize, with quiet inevitability, that you have already breathed it in.
Etymology: Latinpedis (foot) + ventus (wind, breath). - Trayplexy (TRAY-plek-see) n. The paralysis that occurs when a patient’s rolling meal tray wheels lock perfectly with those of a hospital bed, leaving both fused in a motionless, unbreakable embrace.
Etymology: English tray + Greek -plexis (interweaving, stroke, paralysis). - Dysgratia (dis-GRAY-shuh) n.The unease that arises when you are thanked by a patient more deeply than you feel you deserve; a discordance between another’s gratitude and your own sense of merit.
Etymology: Greek dys- (disordered, ill) + Latin gratia (grace, thanks). - Uroclasm (YUR-oh-klaz-um) n. The mortified chaos that erupts when you accidentally jostle a patient’s urinal off the bed.
Etymology: Greek ouron (urine) + klasis (breaking, shattering).
If you want to contribute new words, or if you have experiences/concepts/moments in medicine or HPE that lack a term and you want our team to develop words and etymologies for such experiences, please email kinneabn@ucmail.uc.edu.
References:
- Wittgenstein L. Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1922.
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