Does it also vary with who else is in the waiting room?
So (in our small practice when the appointment system's running well) if
there's only one person there and I know them just a bit, I'll give them a
courtesy upgrade to firstname; if there's more than one that I know I'll
need to remember to call each similarly. But if there are people there I
don't know, especially if running late, I may downgrade the name when
calling in from the shared space, so the new ones don't feel a risk of
prolonged chumminess to others.
By going out to call, the etiquette of standing on entry is resolved; but on
leaving, I think I should match the other's body language more - so stand up
more even though they know where the door is.
(must add to PDP)
Cheers
--
Colin Brown
Paisley
-----Original Message-----
From: GP-UK [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Leuty
Sent: 05 October 2010 23:55
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Straw poll on etiquette
On 5 October 2010 22:20, Walter Tim (FALKLAND SURGERY)
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I reckon I really don't mind what pts call me (within reason) but there
are some who refer to me as TIm where I feel very uncomfortable, like they
have some implicit ownership of me/overfamiliarity.
I used to think that I didn't mind what patients call me, but then I
discovered that I did.
I call them from the waiting room as "Mr Smith" and if I don't know
them I say "hello, I'm Dr Leuty, I'm one of the GPs here" when we get
to the consulting room.
I have a few friends who are patients, and quite a few patients with
whom I have an open trusting and long-lasting relationship. With these
people I am comfortable using Christian names.
Other adults I call "Mr Smith" (or whatever) when I have to, but get
embarrassed because some patients reply "call me Jim" and I know I
won't remember for the next consultation and that they will feel
rejected when I call them Mr Smith again. So mostly I avoid addressing
people by their names, which is fairly easy to do during
consultations.
Mike
--
Michael Leuty
Nottingham, UK
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