Letters

RAPID RESPONSES FROM BMJ.COM

What about the women?

Swearing by surgeonswhat's the OR got to do with it?

More research needed

Time for a cross-over study?

What about the women?

This article originally appeared in BMJ USA

EDITORAs an anesthesiologist, I enjoyed reading the article by Palazzo and Warner. Certainly, their study complements my impression of life in the operating room on the other side of the drapes. It is indeed a pity that they did not add two additional columns looking at the scores on a gender basis. I am sure the results would be even more illuminating.

Neil Donen, anesthesiologist. 
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada ndonen{at}home.com

Swearing by surgeonswhat's the OR got to do with it?

EDITORSurgeons swear, period. Operating has nothing to do with it!

Gary Stack, general practitioner. 
drgstack{at}iol.ie

More research needed

EDITORThere 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 toward indecorous patterns of self-expression than our "more reserved" neighbors across the pond.

My own observation may serve to validate the authors' reported findings. When I passed their paper around, my colleagues in the nonsurgical specialties typically chuckled or gave a smile of agreement. By contrast, surgical colleagues typically responded with unreserved outrage, scoring an average of 5.7 points on the Palazzo-Warner scale.

Hobart Walling, medical student. 
St Louis, Missouri, USA walling{at}slu.edu

Time for a cross-over study?

EDITORAs Dr Warner (FRCS and FRCA) has spent considerable time on both sides of the "blood-brain barrier," he can act as a cross-over study for us. Can he tell us whether his own expletive usage changed after he decided to do the right thing and return to anesthesiology? I suspect his use of phrases such as "Can't you keep this b***ard still?" has merely been replaced by others (for example, "Tell that little s**t to get a move on") rather than disappearing altogether. In case of denial, I have volumes of evidence that Dr Warner is an orthopedic surgeon in all but name!

David Spackman, consultant anesthesiologist. 
St Thomas' Hospital, London, UK gasbag{at}globalnet.co.uk

IN REPLYAs Dr Spackman rightly points out, I have some experience in the field of surgery also. There is certainly a time and a place for swearing on both sides of the drapes, in my opinion. Comments such as "I wish I could find this f****** bleeder" or "Where's the f****** pulse gone" are good examples. However, in the true confidential nature of our paper, I could not possibly comment on my own language, and I am afraid that there is no suitable control to use for a cross-over study.

Orlando Warner, specialist registrar in anesthetics. 
Oxford Deanery, The Royal Berkshire Hospital, Oxford, UK orlando.j.warner{at}btinternet.com