Calling patients and/or co-workers "honey" or "hon"

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I know there are regional variations in the use of honey with non-family members. I happen to live out west, where it's rare. I lived in the South for a few years, way back when, and it seemed to be common.

What do you think of it? I have a younger, bossy co-worker whom I'm going to request that she stop calling me 'hon'. Am I being petty? I find it irritating to have a woman who is younger than some of my children call me 'hon'. I don't mind it from sweet people who are my age or older, from this gal it is part of a general pattern of disrespect that I get from her. She is NOT from the South, by the way.

How does the membership here view this subject?

Specializes in ICU.

Oh, might I add that we do not put patient's names on our whiteboards. We do, however, put OUR names on it, so the patient knows who their nurse is. Also, since I went to nursing school in the 80's, I don't remember ever being told how to address a patient; but since I went to school in Mobile, Alabama, I am pretty certain sugah (sugar) honey, darlin' etc. was OK! If someone calls me baby, I consider it sweet and that that person likes me.

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Again. This just seems so odd to me. All I can think when I read some of these responses is: Geez, get over yourself. Unless someone calls you something truly rude you have nothing to be offended by. I get the professionalism side of it but to actually be offended. Jut makes no sense whatsoever to me.

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Specializes in Gerontology.

Because it is disrespectful to call me a name, any name, that I don't like. It's no different than someone being wanted to be called Susan but someone calling her Susie. It's rude.

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Specializes in ICU.

I just find those phrases incredibly condescending. When I don't remember a name I use "ma'am" or "sir" until I figure out what the name is.

I work in LTC and one of our rehab Pts was a former nurse. One of my coworkers once called her sweetie, and she received such a verbal thrashing that she vowed to never use that word again. Ha!

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Being called "Miss Ruby" sends me straight up the wall! I've told several of the folks I work with over and over, but they still don't seem to get it. (Or else people love to see me riled up!)

My Mom was called Miss Mary by several medical professionals while she was alive but I was never called Miss "Gooch" until recently. My neighbor is in the military and she calls me that all the time when her daughter is around-I guess it's just the way she has her address adults. Then a few weeks ago when I made a doctor's appointment the person on the other line addressed me as Miss "Gooch".

I'm usually called "sweetie" by medical professionals. I look at it this way, I've been called a lot worse and like you said in another post you can usually tell when they are using the words in a non condescending way which is what they were doing so I don't let it bother me.

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Because it is disrespectful to call me a name, any name, that I don't like. It's no different than someone being wanted to be called Susan but someone calling her Susie. It's rude.

My name is Susan and when asked by medical professionals what my preferred name is I've said Sue. has it worked? Never.

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We were taught in nursing school not to use honey, sweetie, darlin, etc because someone could complain and file sexual harassment charges against us. I'm in the south, so several pts will call us those names and it's fine with me. I address pts by their first name (our older pts will usually be Mr. or Mrs. last name, some will be Mr. or Mrs. first name) but I catch myself calling the male ped pts "bud" or "dude" and female adult pts "dear" (as in, see you next week my dear). Nothing offensive is meant by that, it's one of those things I can't seem to stop myself from saying it!

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I personally don't find that offesive at all. I live in Miami, and this was a normal thing ... "Hey mama, how are you today"... I wouldn't find that rude AT ALL. I guess it's how you see it..

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Specializes in Emergency Room, Trauma ICU.
We do it because we've forgotten the person's first name or sometimes because we don't know the person's name. That's not a good excuse, obviously, but it is the reason! When I rush into a fellow nurse's room to help her wrestle with her Houdini, I might not even know the guy's name, but I do know he needs to stay in bed. And if I rush in there because I see him with a leg over the siderails and his nurse is nowhere in sight, I may be clueless as to what his actual name is unless I happen to catch a flailing wrist and glimpse his name band![/quote']

Yep. I'm in the ER and I see 10-20 pts a shift so there's no way I can remember all their names. It's not because I don't care, it's cause I don't have the time and/or my head is too full of lab values and orders. I try to use names as much as possible, but with such high turnover it's too hard.

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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I never address anyone as "honey" -- or as "ma'am" or "sir" if I can help it. I just look directly at the person and say something like, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

It's respectful, doesn't step on anyone's toes, and keeps me from having to remember everyone's names.

It does drive me batty when people address patients as "hon", especially elderly patients. It just seems so disrespectful to use that name to someone old enough to be your mother, or grandmother.

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Im on your side. Its annoying and borderline disrespectful of her to call you hon.

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