I think you're getting way too analytical about something extremely unimportant.
Feel free not to post in the thread then...
Seriously though, I feel the dilution of the short rest concept is a real concern, and I am happy if those of us that feel the same way can find ways to keep our games going without ever having to see two short rests in a row (with the accounting minutiae that implies)...
Just saying "Healing Word doesn't work out of combat; however, everyone get their level as a bonus to their healing surge value for surges expended out of combat" seems to do the trick nice and easy.
(Really it must be an oversight of the designers. When you think about it, it makes sense that in-combat healing should be
less powerful than out of combat healing. After all, in-combat healing offers the considerable advantage of Being There Right Now instead of Much Later, When It May Be Too Late...)
That means I can certainly appreciate the poster earlier in the thread who simply ruled "two surges, and you're back to full hp". It's probably too generous for me right now, but I do appreciate the point. It makes out of combat healing as simple as it can get, it encourages characters to stick it out risking a defeat because they held back healing, and generally makes in-game healing an emergency option rather than the best healing option... It's really a fast and neat option when you think about it. It's good in how it delays the end of the adventuring day too... (when surges last longer)
