To action and confuse a TURN allied to a CLIMB/DESCEND instruction is very easy to do eg 'turn left heading 120, climb flight level 130' but the executive words, which are unambigous, are TURN and CLIMB. The inclusion of degrees achieves nothing, IMHO - why not suffix 'flight level 130' with 'feet'? QED - quite nonsensical!
I spent one career at the console and another in the cockpit and not once in the former did I ever have anyone descend or climb to a heading, in the latter I have never turned on a climb/descend instruction nor, having dealt on a regular basis with our cousins from across the pond, did I see or hear reported any problems with confusion over millibars and inches.
Like so much of the current trends in society, aviation is afflicted with dumbing down to cater for the lowest common denominator. In our professions, they should not have to be catered for and, if found incapable, should be invited to leave.
