To want 'Dr' on my name badge?

[sallysparrow157]

Following a chat with my non medical friend - I'm a doctor and very aware that the general public don't really know what our job titles mean any more (FYs and STs). My past two jobs I have had to specifically ask to have Dr myname on my name badge as well as the generally meaningless st6 or 7.
Of course I introduce myself as 'my name, the children's doctor on the unit today' but my ID badge is so people know what I am as well as who I am. If I had not pushed for it I would be wearing a label saying 'myname st7' and nothing else which means sod all to anyone who matters (ie the people I care for and their families)

I think all of Wales has the same colour coding so once you have learned it for one Welsh hospital you will know it all. It does seem a bit daft if different hospitals have different uniforms. When I was training, back in the dark ages, all nurses everywhere wore the same blue check dress, auxilliarys had a beige check, physios white with blue piping, radiographers white with bugundy and we all wore dresses with big elastic belts!

BUT unless you have a phd you are technically NOT a Dr, you are a medic or a physician

Perhaps the scrapping of white coats for doctors confuses things even more. At least when Doctors wore white coats us patients had an INKLING that we were talking to a professional, not just another patient who had nicked a stethoscope!

Wabbitty yes but in context, ie in a hospital, I think most people would read the 'Dr' title for what it is, that the person wearing the badge has a degree in medicine and is qualified to make decisions about their care, and that they are a doctor rather than a nurse. That seems helpful to me, disregarding the 'Dr is a courtesy title' technicality which I do have sympathy with.

OP, YANBU. Clearer labelling all round! Patients shouldn't have to work out the coding of people's uniforms, or mysterious acronyms, to know who they are talking to...

Thanks for the answers re. Holby . I'm always amazed how cheeky/bolshie the nurses are with the consultants - would they get away with that in RL? I thought everyone had to genuflect to the consultants.

When I was working in the NHS, you weren't allowed titles. Mostly because they were worried that us PhDers would run amok in the hospital pretending to be doctors

Yes to Dr for two reasons- people need to know what you do, who you are and where you are in the food chain and who you are accountable to upwards.
Secondly, after all those years of training, ones in which you have worked hard for your qualification, why shouldn't you 'celebrate' it?

I'm a senior nurse and I've never geneflucted to a Doctor in my life. Respected their opinion and experience? Yes. Capitulated to the title or position alone? No. And the teasing/ banter and debates can get very lively

I have as much experience, skill and ability as many of the doctors I work with but in a different way. We compliment each other.

Genuflect not genefluct

yanbu. I would want to be able to clearly see who was who in a hospital.

It is the same in any profession. I work in a college an all staff, whether admin, support or teaching staff wear the same coloured lanyard, but we all have our main title in bold, then our names. it allows visitors and students alomg with other members of staff to see who does what.

I don't watch Holby but I bet where I work the consultants get a lot more grief than you could realistically show on a family program in terms of the staff banter. Having said that we all respect each other in terms of experience in different areas, but genuflecting towards someone purely because they have a title at the beginning of their name? Nope, not where I work. I think some of the newer doctors are a bit scared of us anyway ;-) can't wait until August where we get a whole bunch of brand new ones to terrify (another reason why I'd never be a doctor- nurses and midwives are genuinely a bit intimidating when you're brand new, must be awful for them when they're in their foundation years).

i worked cleaning on NHS wards for 10 years and the uniforms still confuse me.

I know the diffrence between nurses, nursing auxillary and student nurses. The other just confuse me.

I've only just got to grips with FY1 & FY2, never heard of an ST we still have registrars and clinical fellows! I'm a ward clerk, glad that we now have a uniform (even though it is an ill-fitting shirt that you have to up about 3 sizes in!). For the first few weeks I was wearing my own clothes, a smart blouse and skirt, and people kept assuming I was one of the doctors as they are the only people in "normal" clothes!

Our Healthcare Assistants used to wear white tunics, but it was easy to mix them up with physios (white tunics with piping) or student nurses as 2 local universities use white tunics. They now wear peppermint green striped tunics - mmm, nice (particularly as 3 on our floor are male)

Ignoring thread completely , but would just like to say that the
politicians aspire for the nhs to be like holby , that's where they get their ideas from.

hi
usually a stethoscope around the neck or in pocket, is all it takes :)

White coats for doctors have been reintroduced into the hospital I was last working at. They have 'DOCTOR' embroidered on. Consultants have their names and speciality embroidered on. They are short sleeved and meant to be changed daily to reduce infection risk.

Was a little bit reluctant to wear one to start with but got used to it quite quickly.

Yes please for Dr on name badge and preferably the field they are a doctor in. I would much prefer to know who I am talking to and that they have even a basic level of qualification. Too many other general care people offer opinions that they are not really qualified to make including the previous receptionist at my GP.

YANBU. If you are a children's doctor, worried parents should be clear on who you are. When DS was rushed in to paed's I didn't hear the "waffle", just the bit where they told me what they were doing to help him. So a badge to check later, when I was less stressed, would have been great.

I work in a school and have changed role recently, I have asked for a badge which states that role. Then when I attend some fraught meetings everyone knows the capacity in which I am attending-rather than just turning up for the free coffee.

Ducky you would have actually needed to search for this thread.

Why would you even search these words?

How very odd.

I work in theatre, we always refer to each other as Dr xxx Mr xxx ( surgeon) sister xx, or Matron, in front of the patients, and even in a professional capacity eg in a meeting or on the phone. Anyone non medical who is a lower grade than sister/ team leader would just be a first name. If I didn't know the doctor very well I would even refer to them as Dr xxx on a one to one basis, but I'm quite old school. If someone is a professor, they get professor xxxx in front of patients or just Proff (no name) on a one to basis. Ward nurses do not come to theatre and scrub.

In answer to your op I think you should have Dr on your name badge as this is how you would introduce your self to a patient, you should also have your grade after your name to for other staff to know what level you are at ( if that makes sense?)

If I had worked hard to become a doctor I would certainly want that on my badge so YANBU.

Ohforduckscake

Not sure what your question is !

What is your question about the thread?