"Introductions" or "Why didn't they teach me how to say hello" - a podcast by Scott Selinger

This is Scott Selinger and welcome to the first podcast on behalf of the Northern California’s chapter of the American College of Physicians Council of Early Career Physicians.  Given that this is our inaugural podcast, I thought it’d be a good time to talk about introductions - how you enter into that first meeting with a new patient and how you handle the name game. Before I’ve done pretty much anything new in life, be it starting 6th grade, a new job, interviews, whatever - I’ve gotten a call from my dad where he just says: “remember first impressions.”  While this started out as rhetoric I would roll my eyes at, it’s become very important in my role as a physician, as I’m sure it has for every doctor out there.  That moment where you meet a patient for the first time is paramount in establishing trust and setting the tone of the rest of your relationship with them. One thing that I’ve found is more important now, especially given how busy we all are in cold and flu season, is taking a moment to ready yourself before meeting that new patient.  We have so many other things are mind is on during the day - returning that page or email or message, following up on a lab, getting out on time - that it’s easy to let that ruin your first impression, your tone of voice, and your body language.  It’s crucial that your new patient knows that the only thing you’re thinking about while you’re talking to them is them.  Of course that can’t always be the case, but more and more I’ve found how helpful it can be before opening that door or pulling back that curtain, to stop, take a deep breath, put on a little smile, and focus on forging a great new doctor-patient relationship. But then how do we introduce ourselves?  It’s probably a lot easier in the outpatient setting because by the time someone arrives in your office, they usually know who you are (and in many cases may have read a little blurb about you as well).  In the hospital, it’s a much more difficult setting - the new patient may not know why they are there (or even who they are), they may have already seen numerous other doctors and healthcare workers and have lost track of names, and they usually don’t know what every doctors’ role is (and why should they?).   In both settings, it’s important that you clarify what your role is in their care.  It could be “I’ll be handling your day to day medical care and coordinating with our specialists, if needed” or “I’m here to talk with you a little about what’s been going on and start you on the path to getting better and then one of my colleagues will meet with you in the morning to check in and help guide your care from there” or “I’m here to be your go-to person for any aches, pains, rashes, coughs and colds that pop up and keep you as healthy as I can.”  This is important and often overlooked as the last thing you want is to be finishing up your encounter and hear something like “so when is my doctor getting here?” Now what’s in a name?  How do you introduce yourself to your patients?  Some people introduce themself as Dr. Smith, others as Dr. Adrian Smith, and still others just say Adrian Smith and then clarify their status as a doctor and their role.  I’ve found that people are pretty divided on this and a lot of it seems to come from where they trained as the east coast (and even the south coast where I trained) has a much more formal atmosphere in general than here on the west coast and I think that plays into what style of introduction you use.   What I was taught, and I think most people had this same training, is that your patient should be addressed as Mr. or Ms. and you introduce yourself as doctor so-and-so.  I can’t count how many training videos for patient interactions I’ve seen that start this exact way.  But is this ideal in today’s world or is this part of the outdated paternalistic model of the patient-physician relationship?  Tr

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