The charm of Polish accent

Well, I had an embarrassing moment at work. I think it probably happens to all non-native speakers every once in a while, and today was my turn. It happens often to me and usually in the weirdest situations. I got used to not being able to pronounce ship/sheep/shit/sheet correctly, always wondering if what I’m saying is the right thing,  but today I brought my Polish accent to a brand new level of mispronunciation.

After each clinical shift, we have a handover where we discuss the patients, their treatment plans and issues that arose during the shift. This time it was the lack of crutches. We simply ran out due to the influx of injured people and had to borrow from the trauma clinic until a fresh supply arrived.

I tried to disseminate the message for everyone to be very mindful of who and why gave out crutches because we don’t have many of them.

And here is my speech.

‘Please be aware of who you give crotches to because we are running short of them, and only patients with severe mobility issues can have crotches right now.’

The lack of understanding, followed by unbridled amusement, told me that my junior doctors eventually worked out what I meant to say.

Now I’m absolutely sure they will be very mindful when offering our patients their crotches.