To wonder why we always call doctors by their last name

[Loveandpeace56]

In any other profession this wouldn’t be the case. Even teachers do often refer to themselves by their first names but with a doctor this would never happen.

While I'm sure some doctors have a bad bedside manner there are also people who have a massive b in their bonnet when it comes to doctors. They go in thinking the doctor is going to act superior, take a hostile attitude, question their knowledge because of an article they read in a magazine. My mum had this fairly often - she couldnt' care less what people called her, would go in early to make sure her patients had time to talk through concerns, ask as many questions as they liked, discuss all their options etc. Still there'd be lots of people who would take am attitude from the start.

I should say, to be fair, for my grandmother it wasn't just being addressed informally, but being addressed informally by someone who didn't even know her well enough to know that she was known as Lizzy and not Mary. So, some crossover, but not quite the same thing.

@LolaSmiles

Where I used to work it was Dr whoever until consultant level when it was Miss/Mr whoever Can I ask why that is? I noticed it when I was pregnant that I saw several doctors but then when I got transferred to consultant care it was Mr X's clinic.

It's because originally surgeons were looked down on - they weren't actually doctors, they were likely to be barbers.

Therefore calling them Mr emphasised that they weren't qualified to be called Doctor.

Palavah
That's really interesting. I didn't know that. It seems weird that this convention still exists today given how much training surgeons have.

IMNOTSHOUTING, your Mum sounds great, and it's a shame all doctors aren't like her.
I once asked a doctor why he was suggesting something and he almost threw his computer at me!
I didn't mean to be aggressive, and I certainly didn't think I had greater knowledge- I just wanted to understand the reason for the course of action he was suggesting. Maybe some of the people your Mum met had previously been treated like that?

@Mydogdoesntlisten

IMNOTSHOUTING, your Mum sounds great, and it's a shame all doctors aren't like her. I once asked a doctor why he was suggesting something and he almost threw his computer at me! I didn't mean to be aggressive, and I certainly didn't think I had greater knowledge- I just wanted to understand the reason for the course of action he was suggesting. Maybe some of the people your Mum met had previously been treated like that?

That's awful. My mum said it was quite common even after all the options had been explained and gone through that at the last minute the patient had a sudden panic and would want it explained again, so she was always prepared and happy to answer questions till the cows came home.

"we used to write the patient's name with their preference in capitals so

MRS Jane SMITH - prefers to be called Mrs Smith

Mrs JANE Smith - prefers to be called Jane"

That could be confusing for anyone used to the continental habit of putting surnames in caps.

Yes; in my trust for the very few things that are still on paper we are instructed to write as Firstname SURNAME for that reason.

It reminds me a bit of back in the day when we had paper drug charts and used to have to write DoBUTamine and DoPAmine. (Despite having had a handwriting and transcription exam in medical school).

Merry Christmas 🎅 to all the HCPs who may be working over the Season. Whispers >>if the sleigh crashes, it's Mr Claus please

I work with consultant and jnr drs in a hospital setting and almost all introduce themselves to patients by their first name. The ones that dont are from a different culture and I think worry they wont be taken seriously by some patients, or have difficult first names to pronounce

@Gwenhwyfar

"we used to write the patient's name with their preference in capitals so

MRS Jane SMITH - prefers to be called Mrs Smith

Mrs JANE Smith - prefers to be called Jane"

That could be confusing for anyone used to the continental habit of putting surnames in caps.

Of course, now everything is computerised, all you need is the "salutation" box in the database which tells everyone how they prefer to be addressed. Surely the NHS systems have that - every other database I've seen has it!

Using their surnames can also help things be clearer. A lot of doctors in a hospital might share a common first name - sorting admin would be very difficult. "Dr Mark said to do this." "Which one?"... I think it gives clarity especially when dealing with patients.

@catlovingdoctor

Using their surnames can also help things be clearer. A lot of doctors in a hospital might share a common first name - sorting admin would be very difficult. "Dr Mark said to do this." "Which one?"... I think it gives clarity especially when dealing with patients.

Yes, but loads might share a common surname too.

One of our close friends is a doctor. When he rings up he always announces himself as ‘Dr Death’.

I call most of the doctors I work with by their first names. Consultants to juniors. But some I would never dare. I work in theatres so work with a lot of different doctors.

It’s more surgical that prefer not to be called first names in my experience. Probably because they spend a lot of years training to earn the mr/ms title. Medical doctors (or maybe it’s just anaesthetists as they are the only speciality I work with lol) are more laid back.

I wouldn’t call a doctor that I have a patient relationship by their first name (unless it’s one of my colleagues then I would) but one of the gp’s at my surgery does use her first name.

Using their surnames can also help things be clearer. A lot of doctors in a hospital might share a common first name - sorting admin would be very difficult

I worked at a hospital where I was one of 3 consultant Dr not that common English surname. 2 of us even had the same initial. We all got sent each other's post and emails.

While I was prob the only Dr Firstname in a hundred mile radius.

But can't you just be 'firstname'. As I said previously, DH's client's, I don't think, would tolerate calling him. 'Mr Doesn'tlisten'. Nor AccountantMydog. So why do doctors want to be treated differently?

Although, reading that back, it implies DH and I share the same given name. . ((We don't.)

Actually, nor have I come across HairdresserLucy or Plumber Jane tbh, although still professional relationships. Also no MsHairdressers nor MsPlumbers.
Please, please don't tell me it's because doctors are different (more educated or whatever) .
That would mess with my egalitarian mindset too much.

It's just mostly teachers, doctors and civil servants who insist on titles - all are public servants...why is that. I don't think more of someone that insists on a title - if I'm honest - I wonder why they feel the need - we are professional with first names - if we employed someone who felt incapable of conducting a professional relationship on first name terms we'd have a big problem on our hands.

My son has a been seeing a specialist surgeon and consultant every few weeks for the last year. Not once has they ever referred to themselves as Dr so and so. They always use their first names and my son will say "Are we going to see Eva today?". I guess this is because they work with young children and it puts them at ease, but they do have long and complicated surnames so it might just be for simplicity.

I am a teacher and the kids will always refer to me as Ms Mad in accordance with our school policy, but in any correspondence with parents I always refer to myself by Travel Mad, I never include a title.

Only on mumsnet do people even care about this- the Dr or Surgeon is not your friend! It’s a professional relationship so keep it like so!

I’m an ophthalmologist and always introduce myself by title and surname to keep things professional, I call patients how they wish to be addressed. All my patients care about is achieving the best outcome for their care... not whether or not I’m being called by my title!

CarHire, have you asked them?

No I don’t ask every single patient how they would like to address me! If you have been to eye clinic you may see why! It’s extremely busy often with multiple tests so no most patients are more interested in getting seen on time and getting the most out of their appointment. Again majority of my patients are over 70 and honestly I think would be horrified if I started using my first name- I think I can remember and handful of times a patient has actually used my first name- I didn’t care.

I suppose to an extent we are all making assumptions on here about what other people think. I have assumed that clients wouldn't accept calling their accountant by his/her title and surname, but I could be wrong.
Personally, I would prefer a doctor/surgeon to introduce himself/herself as John/Jane even if they then added, 'the consultant' or whatever, but possibly that's just me. And no, have never been to an eye clinic. Once had a chalazion which had to be treated but the NHS doesn't fund that so I had to go private although that's another thread entirely. .
Anyway, happy Christmas everyone.