noun General Slang

Flea

· noun · medical

Surgeon's pejorative for an internist.

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Definitions

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What surgeons call internal-medicine doctors. The stereotype: an internist will trail after a dying patient ordering more bloods and rare-disease workups, while the surgeon wants to cut, fix and discharge. Said with eye-roll affection between specialties that need each other and resent it.

“The fleas have been circling this guy for three days — somebody just take out the gallbladder already.”
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Flea In A Sentence

The fleas have been circling this guy for three days — somebody just take out the gallbladder already.

Origin & Usage

Folk etymology: 'the last thing to leave a dying dog is the flea' — a dig at internists for sticking with hopeless cases and ordering one more lab. The backronym 'Fucking Little Esoteric Asshole' is almost certainly invented after the fact.

Tags #medical#hospital#surgery#internal-medicine

People Also Ask

What does "Flea" mean in hospital slang?

It's a surgeon's pejorative for an internist.

How do you use "Flea" in a sentence?

For example: "The surgeons kept calling the medicine team a bunch of fleas."

Is "Flea" offensive?

Yes — it's a derogatory jibe surgeons use for internists, not a compliment.

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