Solivane
From solus (alone) + vanus (emptied). A parent who has lost a child; one who moves through the world carrying an absence like a shadow.
More words
Airscope
The quiet mental rehearsal of an intubation while sizing up strangers in public.
Ampulash
Bagbreathe
The slow, rhythmic squeeze of an Ambu bag in the small hours.
Breathchase
Breathtwist
The way your own breathing changes when you realise something is very wrong.
Chartghost
Clockdrag
The way the last 20 minutes of a shift stretch into an eternity.
Codeblur
Codestall
Standing at a secure ward door, blankly staring at the keypad, convinced youÕve forgotten the four digits that have been muscle memory since the start of your career.
CPRspring
Cupburn
The sting of a too-hot coffee gulped between bleeps, knowing it is the only one you will get all shift.
Cursorcrawl
Diagturn
The jolt when a colleague uncovers a new diagnosis in a patient you thought you understood.
Errisave
Farsilence
The distant quiet you hear on a ward at 3 a.m., knowing it can shatter at any second.
Firstlight
Flatlinehum
The endless drone of a monitor stuck on one note.
Gurneyrun
Heartdrop
The moment you feel the weight of bad news in your own chest before you speak it aloud.
Hospibrew
Lasttwenty
The warped stretch of time that turns the last 20 minutes of a shift into an epoch.
Lifespill
Liftwhisper
The hushed conversations in a lift after something terrible.
Linencross
Draping a sheet over a face for the last time.
Mealwheel
Morguequiet
Namefold
The way you mentally fold away a patient's name so it does't follow you home.
Nearmissium
The cold-hot relief of catching a near-disaster just in time.
Nightwater
Pagerdrop
The instant icy sink in your stomach when the cardiac arrest pager erupts.
Phlevue
Pixelhold
The breathless pause while an X-ray crawls onto the screen.
Plastisweat
Scalpshadow
The faint line of dryness where a scrub cap has pressed all day.
Scrubshade
Shiftmelt
The total surrender of body and mind collapsing into bed after a brutal night shift.
Skinprint
Smockghost
Catching the faint smell of a colleague's perfume or aftershave long after they have left.
Snappluck
Solivane
From solus (alone) + vanus (emptied). A parent who has lost a child; one who moves through the world carrying an absence like a shadow.
Spongethud
The wet, heavy drop of a surgical sponge into a bin.
Stilltone
Suturehum
The steady, meditative rhythm of needle, thread, and skin.
Trayclink
Trolleycreak
The uneven, rhythmic rattle of a square-wheeled trolley being pushed along a corridor.
Tubevision
Veinspotting
The idle pastime of scanning strangers arms for possible cannulation sites.
Walllean
Wardhum
The low, constant background noise of monitors, murmurs, and footsteps that you stop hearing until you leave.