GOMER
Encyclopedia
A GOMER is a medical slang
term for a patient in a hospital
who is demented
(and not fully conscious) or bordering on death, hence taking up room unnecessarily in the hospital. Doctors
and nurses may feel that they shouldn't receive life prolonging treatments anymore and should just be allowed to die peacefully.
by Samuel Shem
, and was used mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. It is still used today, although many medical professional
s find it disrespectful and unprofessional. The term has been used several times on the television shows Scrubs
and ER
.
However, "Gomer" is a twentieth-century word, so it could come from an acronym. Some believe it is not an acronym, but from the character Gomer Pyle
In the early 1970s, "Gomer" was medical slang for a stroke-patient, head-trauma victim, or someone afflicted by senile dementia. Individually wrapped, plastic emesis basins were called "Gomer bowls" (and, expensive as they were, they were regularly used to eat Chinese take-out, since plates and utensils were forbidden, for sanitation reasons, in the on-call rooms). Although I heard the word "Gomer" used very often, I never heard the "Get Out of My Emergency Room" acronym, and if it had been invented, I am sure I would have heard it: med students, interns and residents loved that kind of thing. http://wormtalk.blogspot.com/2006/08/folk-etymology-gomer-medical-slang.html
"Law number One: GOMERS DON'T DIE."
"Law number Two: GOMERS GO TO GROUND." (From The House of God)
Medical slang
Medical slang is a form of slang used by doctors, nurses, paramedics and other hospital or medical staff. Its central aspect is the use of facetious but impressive-sounding acronyms and invented terminology to describe patients, co-workers or tricky situations. It serves, in other words, as a...
term for a patient in a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
who is demented
Dementia
Dementia is a serious loss of cognitive ability in a previously unimpaired person, beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
(and not fully conscious) or bordering on death, hence taking up room unnecessarily in the hospital. Doctors
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
and nurses may feel that they shouldn't receive life prolonging treatments anymore and should just be allowed to die peacefully.
Origins and etymology
"Gomer" (also spelled GOOMER) stands for Get Out Of My Emergency Room, reflecting the annoyance of the doctors. It first appeared in widespread print in the medical novel The House of GodThe House of God
The House of God is a satirical novel by Samuel Shem , published in 1978. It portrays the psychological harm done to medical interns during the course of medical internship in the early 1970s.-Storyline:...
by Samuel Shem
Samuel Shem
Samuel Shem is the pen-name of the American psychiatrist Stephen Joseph Bergman . His main works are The House of God and Mount Misery, both fictional but close-to-real first-hand descriptions of the training of doctors in the United States.Bergman was a Rhodes Scholar at Balliol College, Oxford in...
, and was used mostly in the 1980s and 1990s. It is still used today, although many medical professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
s find it disrespectful and unprofessional. The term has been used several times on the television shows Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...
and ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
.
However, "Gomer" is a twentieth-century word, so it could come from an acronym. Some believe it is not an acronym, but from the character Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle
Gomer Pyle is a bubbly, gentle, rural auto mechanic character played by American singer/ television actor Jim Nabors. Gomer Pyle became a character on the TV sitcom The Andy Griffith Show, when actor Howard McNear, who played Floyd the barber, suffered a stroke and took a respite from acting. Jim...
In the early 1970s, "Gomer" was medical slang for a stroke-patient, head-trauma victim, or someone afflicted by senile dementia. Individually wrapped, plastic emesis basins were called "Gomer bowls" (and, expensive as they were, they were regularly used to eat Chinese take-out, since plates and utensils were forbidden, for sanitation reasons, in the on-call rooms). Although I heard the word "Gomer" used very often, I never heard the "Get Out of My Emergency Room" acronym, and if it had been invented, I am sure I would have heard it: med students, interns and residents loved that kind of thing. http://wormtalk.blogspot.com/2006/08/folk-etymology-gomer-medical-slang.html
External links
- Gomer on WorldWideWords
- "The House of God" book information
Use in a sentence
"I really do not feel like treating the two Gomers in the E.R.""Law number One: GOMERS DON'T DIE."
"Law number Two: GOMERS GO TO GROUND." (From The House of God)