So what do you think this means?
 

True scenario:

You are a patient in a semi private room in a hospital. You are behind white curtains and can't see the other patient. Every two hours, the nurses come in and you hear: "put the cow over there." Every 6 hours the doctor comes in and you hear: "please move the cow over here."

What do you think is happening to the other patient?

sportsguy

Moving around the computer?

Computer
On
Wheels

You didn't cheat and use Google, did you?

Correct!
 

cow stood for computer on wheels in operational hospital speak.

however, many patients, without any knowledge of medical speak, complained that the nurses and doctors were abusive because the patient thought the nurses were calling the patient a bovine. The hospital had to change their lexicon due to common knowledge know it alls who complained without comprehension.

That's what happens when you assume you know what all words mean in all contexts. So patients were out of their swim lanes by complaining about medical terms which they didn't understand, but related them to their common knowledge level.

The same misperception can happen with medical data, if you assume that you can interpret the data properly with common knowledge, which i am trying to warn people that with just common knowledge, you may not get to the information for what you are looking, or you are just spouting off common personal ignorance

heck, there was a math professional on here offering an explanation of improved time to sleep math calculation, and posters ignored learning, and just spouted off their common knowledge. So for the posters who realize the limits of their common knowledge, and prefer to avoid the data but understand risk tolerance, i applaud the self limitation recognition.

sportsguy

Nope.. The woman I married has been a nurse for almost 40 years. I just asked her.. :a040:

when I entered the world of hi tech back in the early 80's I was given a book containing all the acronyms unique to that world by my executive admin...it really helped 'the rooky' understand what was being said in the workplace

How many of those words are still in use? Would guess not many

Just point and call it a "doodad".

COW means Computer on Wheels... a common healthcare term

If it were my wife or daughter, they'd call it a "thing-ee".

We call it a wow because people complained of it being called a cow

You made my day, Coach! (I am the math professional you are referring to). Thanks for your kindness and for caring about learning and facts.

What about Saying the guy is SOB!! I got reported for that one!!! ( medical term) I’ll let you all guess

Cow
 

COW - Computer On Wheels

There is a newer preferred abbreviation. It is WOW.

WOW - Workstation on Wheels.

Because COW might be construed as derogatory. I am a retired nurse.

The 'cow' is a what medical personnel call a computer on wheels. Nothing to do with the patient.