Jargon of Polish paediatric nurses: the functional approach

Abstract

This study describes the functional aspect of the jargon of Polish paediatric nurses working at selected hospitals in Mazowieckie Voivodeship (Warsaw, Mińsk Mazowiecki, Wołomin, Siedlce, Płock). On the basis of the analysis, it can be concluded that nurses’ vocabulary fulfils various functions depending on the communicative situation and the degree of its officiality (e.g. educational function, informative function, personal identification function or integrative function). Specific lexis and phraseology are primarily aimed at naming important aspects of working at hospital. What is the most important for Polish pediatric nurses is the realities of treatment, the patient’s condition, and the equipment of the hospital ward