Comments on: Name Calling

By: Antonia

Antonia — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 05:07:11 +0000

All the nurses on my ward call the doctors by there first names I think it takes away that formal inpersonal aspect that use to be the great devide between Drs and nurses. I think it’s a positive sign of the times!

By: Mahrya

Mahrya — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 17:37:07 +0000

I work in the Billing Dept of a multi specialty group practice, and I am also a patient of one of our GI doctors. Even with this dual role at my clinic, I would feel presumptuous calling one of our doctors by their first name. Some of the nurses call their doctors by given name, but it is pretty rare.

By: Amy

Amy — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 20:14:18 +0000

I always ask a physician first if it is ok if I call them by their first name. I never assume it is ok. I will never call a doctor by his first name in front of a patient. I work with a physician and we all call him “DOC”. However the other physcian I work with we call Dr. W. I don’t see a problem with either as long as there is a mutual respect between all members of the health care team.

By: beajerry

beajerry — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 15:00:40 +0000

Yeah, it feels weird to not use “Dr.”

Oh, and I also congratulate you for your incredible blog!

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 17:01:01 +0000

When I first meet with a doctor, if he calls me by my first name then I call him by his. If for some reason I don’t know his first name I ask for it. I have tremendous respect for doctors (and nurses) and also for myself.

By: boxingdoc

boxingdoc — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 13:47:29 +0000

I’m an ER doc. The vast majority of nurses I work with call me by my first name when we are not in front of patients. In front of patients, they refer to me as Dr. B. The nurses have only their first names on their badges for privacy (from the patients). I don’t know most of their last names. There are three nurses in the department with the same first name as me…it has gotten confusing in codes when there is more than one of us in the room….I finally figured out that they were calling out to each other, not me. They just won’t call me by first name in front of patients. I don’t care if they call me by first name. I consider many of them friends. The few that will only call me Dr. B are of all age ranges and backgrounds, so I can’t blame it on them being of the old-school.

I refer to all my patients over the age of 17 as Mr, Mrs, Ms, or Miss Lastname as a sign of respect.

By: Disappearingjohn

Disappearingjohn — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 12:35:22 +0000

In the ED we are pretty informal, and in the nurses’ station, it is usually first names for a lot of the docs for most people. I am just one of those that tend to use the title out of courtesy. Of course, I usually answer “yes, sir” or “Yes, ma’am”, too… Maybe I’m the weird one?

By: Casti

Casti — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 08:47:59 +0000

Hello!!! Congratulations for your incredible blog. I am physician, and i work in a medium size public hospital located in a countryside area, in Spain, and in it, we use to use our first names at work.

By: goofy girl

goofy girl — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 22:27:09 +0000

I’m only a med student, but I’d just rather be called by my first name all the time. I’m not into formality. We’re all people, just have different roles.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 31 Aug 2007 14:35:59 +0000

I work at a teaching hospital with brand new shiney interns…It is really hard to call then Dr. So and So, when, more often then not, I am dictating the orders they write! The older attendings, though, I can’t see myself calling them by their first names…I don’t know if its an age thing or, the whole Dr nurse thing of by gone years…..