Mind your x’s / z’s
We doctors are always looking for ways to do things faster. A prime example of this is our signatures. I once calculated that I sign my name a total of 200 times per day. Signing my name as a "squiggle" takes me a total of one second. If I sign my name neatly so it can be recognized, it take about 3 seconds. This means that I save 400 seconds per day, which is a total of 6.7 minutes. Then multiply this over the 18 days per month, you see I save 120 minutes per month, which is 2 hours, and it neatly works out to 24 hours per year saved per year. I gain an extra day by doing a squiggle instead of a signature! Now I just need to know how I am going to spend this "bonus day."
So this gets me now looking for other ways to get bonus time. One way in which doctors save time is through the use of abbreviation. The rule of thumb is that you put an "x" or a "z" after a letter and you have an abbreviation. For example:
- Bx - Biopsy
- Cx - Culture
- Dx - Diagnosis
- Fx - Fracture
- Hx - History
- Rx - Prescription (see below)
- Sx - Symptom
- Tx - Treatment
- Dz - Disease
- Sz - Seizure
I think this came from the use of "Rx" which everyone knows as the symbol for prescription. Here is the possible origins of this per Yahoo Answers:
Version #1
Rx is an abbreviation for the Latin word "recipere" or "recipe," which means "Take, thou."
Version #2
the Rx symbol was a corruption of the ancient symbol for the Roman god Jupiter. If you’re an astrology fan, you know this symbol which has a very similar crossed leg at the bottom right.
Version #3
R probably came from "recipe" but the pharmaceutical symbol used to be an EYE with an "x" below it instead of the "R," and was called the "Eye of Horus." According to pharmacological authorities, the Egyptian god Horus was the "father of pharmacy."
Well, I think it is just because we are lazy and wanted to get more "bonus time." Another thing you can do is to put a "/" between to letters:
- b/w - between
- b/c - because
- d/o - disorder
- f/u - follow-up
- h/o - history of
- r/o - rule out
- w/u - work-up
Then there is the line over the letter trick :
- c - with
- s - without
- p - after
- ? - before
- q - every
I figure I will gain a year over the course of my life doing this stuff. I plan on taking up a hobby, like scrapbooking, macrame, or paintball.
So let’s see what you have learned:
B/W you and me, the prob c our Cx is that people are s understanding of hx. I get all w/u b/c p q encounter, I r/o common sense b/w their ears.
Signed:
Rob
September 21st, 2007 at 8:57 am
Before is “a” with a line over it (ante).
BTW, I find that I cannot comment with Firefox (on Linux). I was able to add this with Konqueror.