Doublespeak at its finest

“You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means”
-Inigo Montoya


Doublespeak is a term that is often and apparently wrongly attributed to George Orwell’s book 1984. It seems the term Orwell actually coined was newspeak but somewhere along the way doublespeak became entrenched in the collective idiom instead. Regardless of where the term comes from a basic definition that I think summarizes the concept best comes from Wikipedia. Simply it says that doublespeak is:

“language constructed to disguise or distort its actual meaning, often resulting in a communication bypass in the form of bald euphemisms or deliberate ambiguity.”


I bring up this concept because in an age where political correctness (doublespeak for narrow mindedness) is considered an acceptable norm one can hardly be surprised that nursing has failed escape this insidious concept.

Take for instance the word professionalism.

Now the dictionary definition of professionalism denotes occupational spirits, methods, standards and character. However unbeknownst to many that within nursing the term has become a doublespeak tool for the various so called powers that be to create and enforce an unwritten and only spoken of when convenient set of spirits, methods, standards and character for nurses to be held to.

But in nursing professionalism has become doublespeak for the expectation that we tolerate the intolerable in the form of abuse from everyone be it patients, families, doctors, support staff, even other nurses! In these situations when the term professionalism is used it actually means suck it butter cup if you don’t like it quit.

In nursing professionalism has become doublespeak for don’t complain to anyone about the obvious inefficiencies of the system because all that talk about your valuable professional experience and opinions are really just euphemistic statements to make you think your more important then you actually are. Professionalism in this situation means do your jobs you task monkey chair moistener and let your betters make the big decisions.

In nursing professionalism has become double speak for Shut the F@&k up! Say only what we want we want you to say and when we want you to say it. Don’t respond to the insults heaped on you by the public, let the vultures in the media print stories and make false claims about a system they really know nothing about and whose sole expertise for the most part is the arrogance of assuming they know more than they do because they at one time researched a narrow focused topic that may or may not have had something to do with the realities of the healthcare system.

In nursing professionalism means you WILL follow and enact policies and procedures that often seem more motivated by expediency then ethical or compassionate considerations. In this case professionalism in nursing is when you disagree with something your local 18,000 Kg ape of a hiring monopoly is doing you have a choice! Choose between saying something and having a job.

In nursing professionalism means that when something goes wrong the nurse is automatically at fault. Forget trying the Nuremberg defence (I was just following orders) as an even a possible justification for your actions. Chances are it will be even less successful then when it was first used in 1945. In this situation professionalism means you’re the scapegoat. You’re the person that’s going to cover the ass of someone who’s higher in the food chain then you are. The fact that they are the one who came up with policy you where following in the first place or where actually the ones ordered you to do the things that created the circumstances for things to go wrong means absolutely nothing.

Welcome to nursing where professionalism is a loaded gun and everyone but you gets to play Russian roulette with your head only as the target!