Designation as a Sub-Human Piece Of Shit, applied by medical personnel in hospitals to their less-than-desirable patients.
In an article published in Values, Ethics, and Health Care, 5 (1980), pp. 226-228, Harold Schwartz attests that S.H.P.O.S. is "an acronym for 'subhuman piece of shit' applied by medical interns and residents to their most unpleasant and uncooperative patients."
by Michael Zeleny January 27, 2008