The importance of language

Language plays a vital role in fundamental human connections. Although all species have their ways of communicating, humans are the only ones that have mastered cognitive communication. Language allows a form of release and understanding that nothing else can match, allowing thoughts to be translated into something tangible.

Language will forever grow organically. It changes with the times, our environment and social conscience, as it does within wound care. We need only look back a couple of decades to see how our language has changed. If you consider the terminology relating to pressure ulcers, we have gone from bed sores to pressure sores to pressure ulcers, and now even pressure injuries. The language has evolved, along with changes in customs and practices. But do the changes in language also change the direction of how we manage and treat patients? Does this have a wider influence on healthcare? Do the words we choose in our day-to-day practice and the terminology we assign have the potential to shape the care and services of the future?