More research is needed
Editor - Palazzo and Warner used a point
system in their enlightening scientific study
on surgical swearing.1 The question
remains, however: do surgeons swear more
than non.surgeons? To answer this definitively, a control population of general practitioners must be surreptitiously observed
and evaluated. granting the assumption
that surgeons swear more, another unresolved issue is whether the inclination
towards vituperation is innate or
learned - do those possessed of the art of
colourful expression naturally gravitate
toward the scalpel, or is this talent a product
of surgical training? As another comment
on the experimental design, it could be
argued that true virtuosos of imprecation
were unduly penalised by palazzo and
FIarner's decision to score a string of
profanity as a single swearword.
Furthermore, I think there is a tremendous need to extend this study to include
colleagues on the other side of the Atlantic.
Americans are stereotypically considered
"less proper" and more inclined towards
indecorous patterns of self expression than
our "more reserved" neighbours across the
pond. Certain experimental modifications
would, however, be required for the cross
cultural comparison. Most importantly, the
selection of specific expletives to include in
each category (one point for "heaven and
hell," two points for "bodily products," and
three points for fully fledged "four letter
words") would need adjustment. In the
united States the word "bugger" (one point)
might be misunderstood as humorous
rather than objectionable; several of the
words in the "bodily products" category are
often used in polite conversation, and at
least one of the words in the three point cat.
egory is actually considered a term of
endearment here.
Even taking these adjustments into
account, I feel confident that American
practitioners would score significantly
higher than our esteemed British counterparts. It is rumoured that several of the surgical teaching staff at a local medical school
in the united States routinely exceed the
average swear point per eight hours by a
British orthopaedic surgeon (16.5) in the
few minutes before the initial incision.
A final observation may serve to validate
Palazzo and Warner's reported findings. In
an unscientific survey of the response to the
swearing study, my colleagues in the
non-surgical specialties typically chuckled or
gave a smile of agreement when I passed the
report around. In contrast, surgical colleagues typically responded with unreserved
outrage, scoring an average of 5.7 points on
the Palazzo.Warner scale.
Hobart Walling medical student, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA
Email: walling@slu.edu
studentBMJ 2000;08:45-88 March ISSN 0966-6494
- Palazzo FF, Warner OJ. Surgeons swear when operating: fact or myth? BMJ 1999;319:1611. (18.25 December.)
