Capturing life with less colorful words

Considering I have been charting medical information for over 30 years, it is no wonder I find writing very challenging.  Most of the things I have captured on paper have little use in writing outside of the medical venue. Honestly, how often does "Patient expelled large amount of soft brown stool" get used when writing the Great American Novel?  Not very often I'd wager.  It's difficult enough trying not to speak in medical terms that describe bodily functions to my non medical friends.  Apparently asking a friend if they ever got rid of that pesky constipation issue is not polite conversation at the luncheon table.

Nursing language is direct and to the point since charting should be factual and quite honestly, nurses don't have the time to make information attractive.  Information is stated and you move on.  "The patient ate two eggs, one piece of toast and drank four ounces of orange juice.  Patient had an immediate emesis of undigested food."   Now that I'm trying to express my thoughts, hopes, dreams and schemes, I have to be cognizant of presenting what I have to say in a more socially acceptable form.  Keeping bodily fluid information to a minimum and under no circumstances mentioning tissue that is undergoing desquamation is essential.  It apparently creeps people out.

Rather than stating, observing, evaluating and concluding, I will try to share feelings, situations and events to which others can relate. I will leave medical terminology behind. I will not dangle participles and will only split an infinitive when I forget to go back and fix the the first pass of what I was trying to say.

Working as a nurse has allowed me to be very involved but remain distant at the same time.  Nothing safer than professional distance.  The way words are used can have the same effect.  Capturing "just the facts" does not document the complete event.  I can not tell you how many times I have recorded the death of a patient in clinical terms: "Patient without heart beat and respiration's.  Pupils are fixed and dilated."  What wasn't charted that this person was married for 56 years to his childhood sweetheart and the entire family was there to celebrate his life.  No mention was made that his grandson shaved him because it was important to the patient to look his best, no matter how bad a day he was having.  No one outside of the room knew that everyone joined hands, said a prayer and kissed him goodbye as he was taking his last breaths. There was also no note that said the nurse had tears running down her face because she was so moved and honored to have witnessed this precious moment.

Words are powerful, they are funny, they are sad, they are personal, they make a point and they miss the point.  Ah, but the manipulation of words is a puzzle that turns out differently each time pen is put to paper, or fingers to keyboard.