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About Martha Beth Lewis
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I will answer questions having to do with grammar, plurals, punctuation, capitalization, mood, person, tense, and so on, as well as word usage and word choice. If you want a quick answer to a specific question, particularly if you wish to use formal American English for business or academic purposes (MLA), I can give you a timely response. I also can address word choice, clarity, structure, and similar concerns involving English as a second language. If you want advice of a deeper editorial nature (e.g., substantive [line] editing), please consult an Expert who offers this sort of assistance.
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I was employed as an editor for the graduate school at a major U.S. university and specialized in dissertations. I have over 200 publications in professional journals, consumer magazines, and newspapers. I am the author of five books and numerous syllabi in an arts field. I also am a freelance line editor, copyeditor, and proofreader (over 40 years), and I have written or edited countless community organizations' newsletters and promotional materials.
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Note: When using a word as a word in a sentence, such as:
Put a period after the word dog,
=dog= should be set in italics.
Since I do not have access to italics here, I shall use = on either side of the word or phrase that properly should appear in italics. For the above example:
Put a period after the word =dog=.
Also, ~~please do not mark your questions as private~~. I will change them to public because I don't want to type the same answer twice! Thanks for your understanding.
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You are here: Experts > Arts/Humanities > Writing > General Writing and Grammar Help > Use of the word "affirmed"
Expert: Martha Beth Lewis - 11/4/2009
Question
I have been transcribing medical reports for the same hospital for the past 20 years. I recently took issue with the use of the word "affirmed" in the dictation of one of their therapists. He regularly uses the word affirmed as follows: "I affirmed the patient and stated ..." I told him he was not using this word correctly and that the term most frequently used by his peers in dictations such as this was "reinforced." He looked up the meaning of the word affirmed and stated he felt it was correct and he would continue to use it in this way. Who is correct?
Answer
Technically, one could stretch the interpretation and say =affirmed= was correct, but as it doesn't make good sense AND is not used by peers, he shouldn't use it. It's always best to use normally-accepted jargon in one's profession.
I am not sure what =reinforced= means in this context. Does this mean he agreed with (reaffirmed the truth) what the patient said? Or, he states (affirms!) that he heard what the patient said, whether or no he agrees with what the patient said?
mb
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