When should patients call doctors by their first name?

January 6, 2010

 According to a recent study from the BMJ, more than half of patients preferred that doctors call them by their first name.

But what about doctors? Do they mind if patients didn’t address them with a proper title?

In a piece from the New York Times, physician Anne Marie Valinoti notes some discomfort when patients addressed her as “Anne Marie”:

How does one address one’s physician? It is almost always an older patient who will use my first name, in a friendly, offhand way. And, I have observed, these patients are usually men. It might seem natural if I have had a long-term relationship with these people, caring for them over the years, but often these patients seem to make a decision at the outset to be on a first-name basis with me. I wonder about these people. Are they trying to be chummy? Is it a power thing, making them feel less vulnerable while they sit half naked on the exam table? Do they just call everyone by their first names?

 
Doctors may have variable feelings about that, and that attitude can be field-specific. I’ve observed that more pediatricians and obstetrician-gynecologists, for instance, would rather be called by their first names.

On the flip side, I probably wouldn’t call a patient by a first name, especially during an initial meeting. After getting to know one another, then perhaps. It takes a few visits to establish the boundaries of etiquette with a particular patient. And only after then, can a doctor tailor his demeanor to best facilitate communication.
 

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Tagged as: patient, primary care, specialist

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