Five Kinds of Illustrated Graphics for Health Care Textbooks

There are only two kinds of people in this world: Realists and dreamers.

Wait, wait.

There are only two kinds of people in this world: Generalists and specialists.

Sorry.

There are only two kinds of people in this world: Givers and takers.

Oh, this is ridiculous. There are way more than two kinds of people in this world, but from my perspective, there are five (maybe six) key kinds of illustrations that can be used in a health care textbook:

1. Statistical (charts/graphs, tables) 
2. Clinical (anatomy, physiology, pathology, comparative)
3. Schematic (how something works)
4. Storyline (recreates an event, page “decorations”)
5. Icons

Let's take a look at each one.

#1 Statistical

Statistical graphics convey quantifiable data. Mostly. There are a wide variety of statistical graphics commonly used in health care textbooks. This list, in fact, is enormous, but here are some of them:

• Maps
• Bar graphs
• Line graphs
• Histograms
• Area charts
• Pie charts
• Timelines
• Flow charts or algorithms
• Infographics

The more complex the data being presented, generally, the more complex the graphic.

#2 Clinical

Clinical graphics commonly take the form of one of four types:

• Anatomical
• Physiological
• Pathophysiological
• Comparative

Comparative graphics, such as the one at right, can be extremely helpful in clarifying pathology or surgical interventions.

#3 Schematic

Schematic illustrations are useful for showing how something works. Some schematics use some kind of anatomical illustration as the underpinning (below, left). Some are more architectural in structure, as in the example below, right.

#4 Storyline

Storyline graphics recreate an event of some kind, such as an office patient speaking with a receptionist, a physician taking a patient's blood pressure, or a nurse holding a newborn. Sometimes these kinds of images serve a real purpose, but often they're just page decorations and carry no content weight.

#5 Icons

Icons are used frequently in health care textbooks. They're generally quite small and tend to identify particular types of content, such as alerts, communication-related content, patient education, and so forth.

~ #6 Maybe one more — Infographics

We haven't used infographics much so far, but I think you'll begin seeing more used as time goes by. Infographics provide a mix of data types in, typically, a vertical format and are heavily illustrated.

So, there you go. Five kinds of illustrated graphics for health care textbooks.

Wait, maybe six.

Oh, bother.

Neutralizing Your Words

Documenting a patient encounter—whether you're a medical assistant, nurse, physician, or whatever—demands objectivity and professional language.

Consider this notation in a patient's chart: "Patient became rude, difficult, and uncooperative."

Those three words (adjectives, in this instance) are dripping with bias, like frosting on a warm cinnamon bun. (Ooh, yummy!)

Who's to say what's "rude" or "difficult"? Maybe the patient considered himself standing up for his rights, that he was being assertive, not difficult.

Using words that contain inherent bias may work well for a novel but are completely out of place in a medical record. They open the healthcare professional to charges of unprofessionalism and inappropriate patient care.

There's a simple test for determining whether a word or group of words carries bias. Ask yourself, Can someone argue with this?



Let's say you're a student who notices strange trembling in a patient's hands. You go to your instructor and say, "Ms. Jonquin's hands are tremulous."

That's a good word because no one could argue that your observation is correct. Sure, your instructor could check Ms. Jonquin and make a more accurate observation, such as, "You're right, she's tremulous. But do you see her fingers? They look like they're rolling a pill. That's called pill-rolling tremors, a classic sign of Parkinson disease."

Those words are more accurate, but so is your word, tremulous.

But you'd better believe she would argue with your word choice if you charted, "Ms. Jonquin is scared because her hands are shaking."

"Scared" is a judgment you're bringing to the situation, not something you observed.

Similarly, words such as angry, upset, sad, or any other term describing an emotion (unless the patient says it herself) are judgments about a set of objectives observations. Anyone could argue with words like those, just as they could argue with these words: attack, threaten, argue, scream, and yell.

Stick with words of objectivity that no one could argue with, that no one could contradict.

Take great care in using words that could be considered inflammatory, lest you find yourself on trial without a tremulous leg to stand on.