Monday, July 30, 2007

ER Doc Definitions

I was on the phone chatting with my ER doctor brother, and he used a couple phrases that I thought were cool enough to repeat here. They may be standard ER doc terminology, Philly speak (where he lives) or even his own invention.

Push to the side
Definition: A circumstance which at first appears to be dire, but when the dust finally settles, turns out to not be significant.

Usage: When we didn't get the contract with Foo Corp. we thought were we in big trouble, but then we realized they weren't the best fit, and that we are freed up to go after Bar Corp. All in all, it was a push to the side.
Crumple
Definition: When the health of a patient starts to deteriorate very quickly and multiple systems start to collapse in short succession.

Usage: First we ran out of swap space on the machine, then programs started to crash, and finally we kernel panicked. It's amazing how fast the box crumpled.

Thanks Josh for the contribution! Now, if I really had guts, I'd use these phrases at the next board meeting I am invited to. I'd have to say them with a straight face as though they are common, everyday terms.

I know these phrases will have hit it big when they show up on the buzzword bingo card.

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