Category Archives: diabetes-related language

Patient or Person

Posted on March 24, 2020 by janekdickinson

I am an advocate for referring to me and others with diabetes as a person, or people, first. That’s been discussed in the context of not calling people “diabetics,” and also in terms of using the word “patient.” I started to … Continue reading →

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Opportunity 2020

Posted on December 26, 2019 by janekdickinson

Instead of resolutions, I’d like to suggest opportunities in 2020. Most of us who are alive today didn’t experience the “Roaring Twenties” of the last century. What a decade it appears to have been – full of boldness (and dancing). … Continue reading →

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Solidarity in Diabetes

Posted on November 14, 2019 by janekdickinson

I saw a post on Facebook that says, “Type one diabetes, not caused by eating too much sugar or lifestyle.” I immediately (and somewhat frantically) typed this response: Type 2 diabetes is also not caused by eating too much sugar … Continue reading →

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Sorry it’s been a while

Posted on February 22, 2019 by janekdickinson

Not blogging for a month is a great reminder that some things in life can be put on hold. Diabetes is not one of them. So take advantage of those things you can start and stop at will, I say! … Continue reading →

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Artificial Intelligence and Health Care Communication

Posted on January 9, 2019 by janekdickinson

When I saw a tagline about artificial intelligence (AI) improving patient-provider communication I read on with great interest. What? How? This article claims AI will provide better ways to communicate between providers and patients. I take from this that AI has … Continue reading →

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People who want to be told what to do

Posted on December 12, 2018 by janekdickinson

*CRS Q/A Question: What is the best strategy (or a suggestion) to provide person-centered care to somebody who is more “old-school” – e.g. “Doctor, just write me a prescription,” without wanting to take any responsibility for their own care? First … Continue reading →

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A(nother) vote for positive language

Posted on November 13, 2018 by janekdickinson

In the exercise world, “bout” is often used to describe a period of exercise. In the real world, many people don’t enjoy exercise. And exercise is incredibly important for all of us – diabetes or not – so it makes … Continue reading →

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What the language movement is not

Posted on October 24, 2018 by janekdickinson

  In diabetes, we are changing the world…of language. We are becoming aware of the words we use and messages we send, because we know they make a difference. #languagematters Sometimes we call it changing the conversation and other times … Continue reading →

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Sugar Coating vs. Tough Love

Posted on October 12, 2018 by janekdickinson

*CRS Q/A Question: “Sugar coating” is not honest. “Tough Love” should be the motive. How to balance? When I see/hear this type of question I immediately think I’m not doing a good job communicating the intent of this language movement. … Continue reading →

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Suggestions for replacing ‘should’

Posted on August 6, 2018 by janekdickinson

“‘Should’ is the most self-defeating word in the English language” – Steve Chandler. I bet it wasn’t always that way. Linguists could tell us the origin of “should” and how it was really meant to be used. Somewhere along the … Continue reading →

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