By 
Contributed by Cheryl Carlson, RN
I am currently working in telephone triage where I am able to usually blend my knowledge and expertise to solve even embarrassing and prickly problems. However, the current androgynous naming trend is making my life miserable. Ash, Avery, Logan,Taylor, Cameron, Pat…better have a distinctive voice. Sadly they don’t.
One night I got a call from a person new to our system with complaints of burning and itching “down there”, the clerk had loaded them without title or sex. Nothing said in first minutes helped clarify if the need was urology or gynecology. I finally decided since age was at young edge of possible menopause I asked, “Are you still having periods?” The response I got was an indignant “men don’t have periods!” I made their appointment for a urology visit and flagged the caller as MALE in comment.
Nursing is often frustrating but seldom boring.
