I’m currently doing some additional work to educate nurses on colorectal cancer. It’s a topic I’m passionate about not only in work but also in my personal life as my family has felt the effects of colon cancer. I’ve even blogged about my own experiences with fecal occult blood test, or FOBT, stool collection. Maybe a little TMI, but hey…nurses have these issues, too, and that’s important for people to know!

My mind keeps drifting back to a conversation I had with a sweet friend not too long ago…about why in the world is the urine/stool collection container called a “hat.” I can’t help but laugh each time I think of the conversation because it is a bit ludicrous. Yes, it kind of resembles a hat – maybe one that has been chopped in half? Nurses and other healthcare providers nonchalantly tell patients about “the hat,” but I’ve never had anyone mention that verbiage aversion to me until my friend brought it up.

I’ve tried – unsuccessfully – looking for the origin of this jargon. Does anyone know or have a guess? Are there any other created terms you think we use in healthcare that we use in “normal” conversations that might be a wee bit odd to non-healthcare providers?