Sometimes the need for triage isn’t about ruling something (someone) in or out but about deciding what, if anything, to do next: where to invest limited resources. In a hospital, for example, a newborn whose appearance suggests some possible anomaly gets a note on his chart: FLK (Funny-Looking Kid). An elderly woman whose vitals are fading: CTD (Circling the Drain). Someone who dies on the ward is “discharged up” or “transferred to the ECU” (Eternal Care Unit). Hospital staff make these seemingly callous judgments because time is usually scarce, and doctors and nurses simply cannot afford to
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