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As medical students, our vocabulary expands exponentially to accommodate written exams and clinical assessments, but nothing prepared me for the slang I encountered on the wards in my foundation years. It was here that I first came across the term “Bibi-itis.” A decade later I found it was still being used.
It happened in the doctors’ office. I was scrolling through a list of patient referrals on my computer wondering out loud what undiagnosed entity awaited me in the emergency department. Beside me, my colleague asserted that the crucial diagnostic clue could be found in the patient’s name. In fact, he went on, that based on my race and my gender, if my name appeared on a list of patient referrals it would herald an upcoming case of “Bibi-itis.” I turned to my registrar colleague and silence hung between us for a few...