noun General Slang

FTD

· noun · medical

Failure To Die — the frail, dying patient who somehow keeps not dying.

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Definitions

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Black-humour chart-room acronym for the elderly, terminal patient who's been 'actively dying' for three weeks and is still on the ward. Sometimes parsed as 'Fixin' to Die.' Reflects the moral fatigue of geriatric and palliative work more than any cruelty — these are usually the patients staff care for most.

“Bed 12 is another FTD — family won't sign the DNR and she just keeps hanging on.”
by community
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FTD In A Sentence

Bed 12 is another FTD — family won't sign the DNR and she just keeps hanging on.

Origin & Usage

American hospital jargon; sits alongside GOMER and similar terms from the House of God lineage.

Variants F.T.D.

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