noun
General Slang
albatross
AL-buh-tross · noun · slang
A chronically ill patient who clings to one doctor indefinitely
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Definitions
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A patient with a chronic, incurable condition who remains attached to a particular physician for a very long time, felt as a burden.
“That patient's been my albatross since residency.”
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albatross In A Sentence
That patient's been my albatross since residency.
Origin & Usage
Alludes to Coleridge's 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' where the albatross is a burden hung round the neck.
People Also Ask
What does albatross mean in medicine?
It refers to a chronically or incurably ill patient who stays attached to one doctor for years and is felt as an ongoing burden.
Where does the term come from?
It alludes to Coleridge's poem 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,' in which a dead albatross is hung round the sailor's neck as a burden.
Is it an insult to the patient?
It reflects the doctor's sense of burden rather than dislike, but it is unflattering slang not meant for patients' ears.
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