The origin of the word "rounds"

[LovingItAll]

I was doing my usual mind wandering today during rounds and wondered - why do they call it "rounds"?

Further, most people I've heard refer to it as something to be "made": "Let's make rounds." "What time will we make rounds?"

Anyone know why its called rounds, and/or why rounds are "made"?

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[Shah_Patel_PT]

I was doing my usual mind wandering today during rounds and wondered - why do they call it "rounds"?

Further, most people I've heard refer to it as something to be "made": "Let's make rounds." "What time will we make rounds?"

Anyone know why its called rounds, and/or why rounds are "made"?

Good Q..

 

[Febrifuge]

Really?

It always made perfect sense to me. The milkman makes his rounds, placing bottles of milk on doorsteps. The postal carrier makes her rounds, bringing mail to all the post boxes. Even people who just have a routine they like to stick to say they're "making the rounds," like on a Saturday going from the newsstand to the cafe to the park. What else would you call it when a bunch of doctors walk around the floor, and discuss the case of each patient on the way as they do it?

 

[Entei]

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but a student from Johns Hopkins told me that Osler was the one who coined the term "rounds." The reason was that they have this famous dome down at Hopkins which was originally part of the hospital. So when Osler lead the team to see the patients there, they had to travel the circular hallways around this dome, hence making rounds.

Could be true, but there are probably as many theories about this as there are about how pimping got its name.

 

[AJM]

I'm not sure if this is true or not, but a student from Johns Hopkins told me that Osler was the one who coined the term "rounds." The reason was that they have this famous dome down at Hopkins which was originally part of the hospital. So when Osler lead the team to see the patients there, they had to travel the circular hallways around this dome, hence making rounds.

Could be true, but there are probably as many theories about this as there are about how pimping got its name.

Yeah, that's the origin I heard as well... heard it from a Hopkins resident. It's possible that it's just a story they make up, but to their credit, Johns Hopkins was the first modern medical training institution in the US, so it's entirely plausible that this is really how it started. Besides, their dome is pretty cool, too...

As far as the origin of the term pimping, there's only one that I've heard of -- it's an acronym for Put In My Place.

 

[Pilot]

Naw. It is because they are never-ending like a circle (which is "round"). You never really finish rounds - you just repeat them day after day after day after day...........

O​

Would have been called infinity but doesn't flow off the tongue as well..

 

[Doc Ivy]

Naw. It is because they are never-ending like a circle (which is "round"). You never really finish rounds - you just repeat them day after day after day after day...........

O​

Would have been called infinity but doesn't flow off the tongue as well..

Amen. Neurology sign-out rounds yesterday was INTERMINABLE, why does everyone have to choose late Friday afternoon to come in with "spells" or atypical new onset headaches?

 

[Blade28]

Naw. It is because they are never-ending like a circle (which is "round"). You never really finish rounds - you just repeat them day after day after day after day...........

...if you're in medicine or peds or psych or FP. At least in surgery and OB/GYN we get to interrupt rounds with cases.