The words to use
- Anonymised
- Told so that nobody could reasonably work out who the patient was, either from one detail or from several details put together.
- The camera test
- A check on each sentence: would a camera in the surgery have recorded it? Actions pass and count as evidence. Adjectives like "kind" or "amazing" fail.
- Stop signal
- A sign agreed before treatment, as simple as a raised hand, that tells the dentist the patient wants to stop. It gives a nervous patient some control.
- Second-order why
- The follow-up beneath the follow-up: not why the moment mattered in general, but why it affected you in particular.
