Most patients want physicians to shake their hands when they first meet, and about half want their first names used in greetings, according to a report in the June 11 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.
Researchers at the Norwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine conducted a survey of 415 adults across the United States on their preferences when meeting physicians and also analyzed videotapes of over one hundred new patient visits recorded in 19 different offices in Chicago and Burlington, Vermont. I am thrilled to report that the results justify my own personal belief, namely that those who have the gall to barge into a patient's room and start commandeering their health, if not their life, should at least have the courtesy to properly introduce themselves and learn the name of the person trembling before them. Here's what the respondents said:
78.1 percent wanted physicians to shake their hands, while 18.1 percent did not.
50.4 percent wanted their first names used during greetings, 17.3 percent preferred their last name and 23.6 percent favored the physician using both first and last names.
56.4 percent wanted physicians to introduce themselves using first and last names, 32.5 percent expected physicians to use their last name, and 7.2 percent would like physicians to use their first name only.
I do support this notion that when a doctor asks one to drop one's trousers it would be immensely gratifying to know to whom the fickle finger of fate belongs, therefore I extend the courtesy before the digit, if you know what I mean.
The authors remind physicians to look for nonverbal cues that identify folks afflicted with standoffishness, and to use both the patient's first and last name to avoid any breach of patient safety guidelines, e.g. "What do you mean how did Mammy Yokum's amputation go? I thought I was supposed to operate on Mr. Yokum!"
Creating a calm atmosphere, establishing rapport, building confidence, showing warmth and respect for all - these are not just good ways to get your friends to pick up the check, but are now scientifically shown to be the preferred way to meet those who ask us to safeguard the most precious of their treasures - their health.
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I got spam yesterday saluting me like so: "Beloved!".
This reminds me of the time I had to have a breast biopsy. There I was about 6 feet above the floor, face-down, boob hanging through a hole in the cold metal table, face turned toward the wall, and the guy in charge of the biopsy gets between me and the wall and introduces himself. Gee, what a way to meet somebody.
Naturally, I shake a patient's hand when greeting them, but I have always felt more comfortable using a patient's last name; in light of this, I'll have to reconsider.
However, I am a middle-aged male physician who cares by and large for teenaged girls and young women and I don't want to seem patronizing by using my last name and a patient's first name: "Hi, Ashlee, I'm Dr. W. What can I do for you today?"
Nor do I feel comfortable using my first name, "Hi, Ashlee, I'm Jim. What can I do for you today?" This seems kind of creepy considering these women are often half my age or younger.
Is there anything wrong with "Hi, Ms. A., I'm Dr. W. What can I do for you today?" I'm disturbed that this survey suggests there might be.
In a bygone era, when graciousness and civility ruled, it was standard to call someone Mr. or Mrs. or Dr. until instructed otherwise. As in 'Oh, please call me Jen'.
I like a handshake. I also prefer to meet the person before I've taken my clothes off - at least the first time.
Maybe it's because I live in the South, but I prefer to be addressed as Ms.R.. The staff is always busy referring to the doctor as Dr. X., I'd like the courtesy of Ms.
I go by a nickname so calling me by my ID card name isn't all that familiar to me anyway. I don't expect the person to remember my nickname, so Ms. R... works best.
If it looks like this is someone I'll be seeing repeatedly then I like for them to offer me their business card. Then I've got their first/last name, title, and various phone numbers all spelled out and written down for later.
If someone called me "Ms.," I would probably be looking over my shoulder to see if they were actually talking to my mother. ;) First name, please - but don't hesitate to *ask* me first about my preference, because I'll gladly tell you.
Initial impressions really do matter. My all-time favorite: the internist whose very first words to me after "Hi" were "I don't deliver babies so if you want to have a baby, you'll have to see someone else." Needless to say I am no longer his patient.
Respect and common sense go a long way toward making everyone feel mutually at ease.
I would prefer my MD to call me Mrs. Bright -- most of the MD's I have seen have introduced themselves as Doctor SoandSo, and I expect to be treated with the same formality that I am being asked to treat them with. I am a patient - not a child.
That being said - I don't usually make a fuss about it, because it's not really a big deal. It's far more important for my MD to be competent and non-paternalistic then it is for them to fit my definition of mannerly.
I grew up being told to address everyone as Mr. or Mrs. as a form of respect, and still do. Even as a nurse, every patient is Mr. or Mrs even though I introduce myself as "John". If the patient says, "I'm Jill", or "Call me Jill", then that's what I use...
It is an interesting study though. I guess the climate is changing with regard to personal respect
Why couldn't standard patient intake forms include a simple question: "How do you prefer to be addressed"?
Nothing aggravates me more than a doctor who calls me by my first name, yet introduces themselves as Dr. Last Name. But I'm a long-time consumer of the health care system (have had arthritis since I was 4) and view my doctors as members of a team where I am the leader - after, all it's my body, therefore my decisions (and there's a long rant about doctors who find it difficult to, shall we say "adjust" to this point of view and insist on being the one in charge, but I'll leave that for now).
I'm with bushpigeon - ask me what I prefer to be called, then introduce yourself with first and last names (no title necessary, I didn't come to the clinic to see a plumber), leaving it up to the patient to decide what to use...
I feel odd whenever anybody addresses me as Ms. last name. It happenes all the time because my legal first name is hard to pronounce, so people go for the easier last name when they address me. Ms... who? Oh, me.
I don't think I've had a doctor that said I'm Dr. last name in a long while. Most everyone introduces themselves with their full name w/o the Dr.
I remember my simulation appointment with a radiation oncologist for rectal cancer. There I was with my hindquarters exposed, people coming in and out of the room and introducing themselves when they knew darn well I couldn't move or mess up the alignment of the images they were shooting. I couldn't turn around and look at them. I never saw their faces but they got to know my butt really well. Thankfully the folks who did write on me and give me tattoos introduced themselves prior to me becoming "tied down". I really felt like a piece of meat with that appointment.
At UCLA, where I receive my treatment, there is a question on the intake form asking how you would like to be addressed. I assume that the doctors & nurses refer to this, and that it is put on your chart. Problem solved.
Along with introducing oneself, doctors should always knock before entering a room.
At my first visit with the neurologist that I see now, after he had reviewed by chart in the hallway, he simply burst into the exam room, saying "You do not have Condition X." I had been diagnosed with Condition X by 4 previous specialists, so this intro was a shock.
However, in the end I didn't mind this at all. The neurologist answered my questions, a good 10 in all, quite different from most of the other specialists I've seen.
I can't recall exactly how he addresses me; I think he just asks me how I am doing. Best of all, he listens to what I say back to him. Frankly, at this point, I don't care how a doctor addresses me or introduces themselves, I just want decent care and my questions answered.
I suppose I prefer being called 'Ms. L' because there is/was only one Mrs. L, and that is my late mother. The name belongs to her, and it was retired the day she passed on.
I meant to add to the above post that I wonder how meaningful some of these surveys are.
If you asked the same people who were surveyed how they were actually addressed by a doctor who they feel they received good care from, I wonder if the responses would be different from how they wish to be addressed in a hypothetical situation. These two things are not equivalent, though it is nice when a doctor, and a patient for that matter, is polite.
I don't really care. Lisa, Mrs. K, "Yo!"... just get the diagnosis right. :)
I hope doctors take note of this. Like the GI doc that introduced himself to my mother by walking into the GI lab, yanking the pillow out from under her head and saying to the nurse "let's get started." vs. the GI doc that walked into the GI lab for my emergency ERCP said "Hello, Mrs. K, I'm Dr. A. We'll get that stone out and you feeling better soon." while looking me in the eye and touching my hand.
or the breast surgeon who walked into my mothers appt 45 minute late and stated before closing the door behind him, before introducing himself "You have an advanced breast cancer." vs the surgeon who was taking out my gall bladder "Hello Mrs. K, I'm Jeff G., tell me what's been going on." while shaking my hand, looking me in the eye, then preceding to actively listen to me and ask pertinent questions.
To reddog: my mother had similar experiences with her radiation. There was ONE tech who she felt didn't treat her like a piece of meat.
I live in the south, my mother lives in the northeast. Anyone else see a difference in attitude by region and even where they trained? I have lived by two large medical schools, most of the younger docs (and I have dealt with quite a few from both) coming out of these two schools have pretty good people/listening skills, is it becoming more of a priority?