What Are They Talking About???Getting to Know Confusing Words Around the Hospital :What Are They Talking About???Getting to Know Confusing Words Around the Hospital


When you see a speaker like this… :When you see a speaker like this… CLICK IT!


Slide 3:Whether this is your first time to the hospital, or you’ve been here before, you will probably hear people around the hospital use some words that you’re not familiar with!


This Might Make You… :This Might Make You… Scared


Or… :Or… Nervous


Or maybe even… :Or maybe even… Excited?


Slide 7:No matter how you’re feeling, getting more information about the words you hear will help you to know what’s going on! So let’s get started!!


SHOT :SHOT You might hear someone say: “Has she had her shots?” or “He’s going to need a tetanus shot.”


SHOT :SHOT In the hospital, a shot is medicine that is given through a tiny needle to make you feel better. This doesn’t mean that someone will get shot by a gun and badly hurt.


I.V. :I.V. You might hear someone say: “He’s going to need an I.V.” or “Give her the medicine through her I.V.”


I.V. :I.V. In the hospital, an I.V. (short for “intravenous line”) is a small tube that is put in a patient’s hand or arm by using a tiny needle so that doctors and nurses can take blood samples and give medicine to you without having to keep poking you over and over. Once the tube is in, the needle is taken out. This doesn’t mean the green plant that grows on the side of buildings.


DRESSING :DRESSING You might hear someone say: “He needs a dressing change.” or “She needs a new dressing.”


DRESSING :DRESSING In the hospital, a “dressing” is a bandage and to “change dressings” means to put a new bandage on! This doesn’t mean to change clothes.


DYE :DYE You might hear someone say: “The doctor will inject you with some dye.” or “The nurse will put dye into your body.”


DYE :DYE In the hospital, dye (also called “contrast”) is given to you to drink or is injected through an I.V. so that different parts of your body show up more clearly in pictures that are taken. That way, doctors have a better idea of how to make that part of your body work the way that it should be! This doesn’t mean the doctors or nurses are going to give you something to make you die.


STRETCHER :STRETCHER You might hear someone say: “He’ll need to be put on a stretcher.”


STRETCHER :STRETCHER In the hospital, a stretcher is a bed on wheels used to move patients around from place to place. This doesn’t mean that someone is going to bepulled from both ends.


STOOL SAMPLE :STOOL SAMPLE You might hear someone say: “We’ll need a stool sample from him/her.”


STOOL SAMPLE :STOOL SAMPLE Unfortunately, this one’s kind of yucky. In the hospital, a stool sample is a sample of your “poop” or “B.M.” You go to the bathroom and it is collected in a small jar. Doctors use this sample to check for bacteria that may be in your body so they know how to treat you. This doesn’t mean the doctors or nurses need one or two seats to sit on.


GAS :GAS You might hear someone say: “You will get some gas through a mask before your surgery.”


GAS :GAS In the hospital, gas is also called anesthesia. It is a type of medicine in the air that you breathe through a mask on your face to help you go into a very deep sleep during an operation so you will not feel anything. It is a different kind of sleep than what you do in bed every night. After your operation, the doctor will stop giving you the medicine so you can wake up. This doesn’t mean that someone is going pourgasoline into the mask on your face.


FLOOR :FLOOR You might hear someone say: “Let’s move her to the floor.”


FLOOR :FLOOR In the hospital, floor is another way to say another unit or area of the hospital. This doesn’t mean the doctors and nurses are going to put you on the ground!


I.C.U. :I.C.U. You might hear someone say: “After his surgery, he will be moved to the I.C.U.”


I.C.U. :I.C.U. In the hospital, the I.C.U. is also called the Intensive Care Unit. This is an area of the hospital where patients are watched over closely when they have a serious medical condition. The best equipment is there to take care of the patients who are in the I.C.U. This doesn’t mean “I see you!”


P.I.C.U. :P.I.C.U. You might hear someone say: “She needs to go up to the P.I.C.U. for monitoring.”


P.I.C.U. :P.I.C.U. In the hospital, the P.I.C.U. is the kid’s version of the I.C.U. (Intensive Care Unit). The “P” in P.I.C.U. stands for pediatrics-- another word for kids like you! This doesn’t mean “I pick you!”


CAT Scan :CAT Scan You might hear someone say: “We’re going to need to take you to get a CAT Scan.”


CAT Scan :CAT Scan In the hospital, a CAT Scan (also called a “CT Scan”) is like getting your picture taken with a huge camera. You lie down in a big machine that looks like a doughnut and the technicians slide your body through the hole in the machine until they can see what part of the body they need to check on with the camera. The camera never touches you but it does make some noise. You will be able to hear the technician talk to you and you can talk back, but you have to lie very still so they can get good pictures! This doesn’t mean that you will be scratched by cats or that a cat will be placed on a scanner!


WOW! You have learned so much about the hospital already! Let’s see what you can name… :WOW! You have learned so much about the hospital already! Let’s see what you can name…


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


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WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT’S THIS? :WHAT’S THIS? ANSWER (click the speaker)


WHAT ARE THESE? :WHAT ARE THESE? ANSWER (click the speaker)


How Did You Do?? :How Did You Do?? Remember… it’s very important to ask questions when you are confused about what is being said in the hospital. You have the right to know and the right to learn!!!