i just had minor surgery and it was the first time i've spent any substantial time in a medical setting since beginning to explore nursing as a career. of course, i was much more observant now that i may be making my way to the field myself! i noticed some things and wondered your take on it, as nurses...
the anesthesist (sp?) took me from the waiting area to the op room and asked me all the history questions and took my BP...but never introduced himself. i don't have any idea if he was a doc or nurse (not that it matters)...or even what his name was. in fact, no one introduced themselves and there were 5 people in the room, counting my doc. i found myself wondering who was what? nurse, LPN, CNA, MA, PA, other? they were all very nice and attentive...it was just curious that no one told me their names or roles or anything.
i thought back to the first surgery i ever had and remembered very clearly that not only did each person tell me who and what they were, but they made it a point to tell me what exactly they would be doing as their part of the procedure. of course, i was i think 20 or 21, alone, scared to death (it was an unexpected urgent surgery), and it definitely showed...so maybe they were just trying to make me feel at ease(?).
so nurses...how do you introduce yourself to patients if at all, and does it matter?
i just read through the other responses. we NEVER give out our last names and our tags only have our last initial. if someone wants to complain or pay a compliment about me i tell them, i'm the only xxx in the department. if you give my supervisor my first name she will know who you're talking about.
Specializes in Med-surg; OB/Well baby; pulmonology; RTS.
I always tell them "I'm _____ and I am your RN today and I will be with you from 7a-7p". If I go in and I am floating, I tell them my name and that I am "helping everyone out today". I also tell them who my tech is and I try to write it on that white board too. If I am signing behind a LPN I tell them "I'm _____ and I am helping out ______ today. Let us know if you need anything."
i just read through the other responses. we NEVER give out our last names and our tags only have our last initial. if someone wants to complain or pay a compliment about me i tell them, i'm the only xxx in the department. if you give my supervisor my first name she will know who you're talking about.
No doubt there is some justification to not providing your last name. But it begs the question, "If you don't trust me enough to let me know who is treating me, then why should I trust you to treat me?" Trust is a 2 way street. What are you trying to hide? I can understand it if treating a criminal, but I think the average citizen has a right to know who is involved in their care and what qualifies them to be there. You can't have professionalism without accountability, and you can't have accountability without identification.
I am not concerned about an MA taking my bp or temp, but the more they do the more I want to know who is doing it. My safety and security is important to me. This past week I had a stress test with Cardiolite and even though the lady had no name tag on, I knew her first and last name, her medical qualifications, where she went to school, what part of town she lived in, what restaurant she worked at while in school, and where she spent the Memorial Day weekend, before she even started the IV. Of course I would have been happy with just a name and quals, but once the rapport started, it just kept on. I trusted her, she trusted me, it went just fine.
I can see if the situation is an emergency where it is just not appropriate to stop and introduce yourself, but other than that I think that identifying yourself is the first step in establishing the professional relationship.
No doubt there is some justification to not providing your last name. But it begs the question, "If you don't trust me enough to let me know who is treating me, then why should I trust you to treat me?" Trust is a 2 way street. What are you trying to hide? I can understand it if treating a criminal, but I think the average citizen has a right to know who is involved in their care and what qualifies them to be there. You can't have professionalism without accountability, and you can't have accountability without identification.
I understand your point, but as a safety measure, our hospital does not include last names on our badges for ED and PSYCH. The ED has LOTS and LOTS of potential for unsafe issues. Patients often threaten us, and many are such frequent fliers that they know an awful lot about us anyways. It's always better to err on the side of safety. In addition, we get a lot of very unstable, at times very violent psych patients on TDO holds, and they have to be medically cleared by us before they go up to psych. I personally feel much safer not having my patients know my last name. There are several nurses in my ED who have been stalked by former patients, and they requested that last names be removed from the front of the badge. The last name is now on the back of the badge so you can still find its owner if it gets lost, but it is not easily visible to patients.
i would always make rounds and go to each person, and say "hello mr/mrs. so-and-so, i'm miss crispi and i am your nurse this evening. do you have any pain?" unless i was on the jail ward in which case i would not tell those inmates my name. i would show my badge and turn it back wards once they saw i was wearing one. i would just tell them my name was "nurse"...it was what we did for safety.
and i always had on my badge. i would cover my last name up on the jail ward and just leave my picture and "RN" visible....some of them stalk nurses.
I understand your point, but as a safety measure, our hospital does not include last names on our badges for ED and PSYCH. The ED has LOTS and LOTS of potential for unsafe issues. Patients often threaten us, and many are such frequent fliers that they know an awful lot about us anyways. It's always better to err on the side of safety. In addition, we get a lot of very unstable, at times very violent psych patients on TDO holds, and they have to be medically cleared by us before they go up to psych. I personally feel much safer not having my patients know my last name. There are several nurses in my ED who have been stalked by former patients, and they requested that last names be removed from the front of the badge. The last name is now on the back of the badge so you can still find its owner if it gets lost, but it is not easily visible to patients.
Are the doctors' last names also on the back of the badge?
So you noticed it too? I'm impressed that each and every person on this topic introduces themselves because I've found in real life that this is rarely the case. Additionally, my caregivers often wear name badges turned around so you can not read their names or with small print that you cannot see who they are. The only people who consistently identify themselves are physicians. There has been a lot of discussion on this forum about wearing color-coded uniforms, etc but if people would only do the right thing, discussions about differentiating nursing from housekeeping would be unnecessary.
*My name is Sharon, I'm an RN and I will be providing your care today.*
Funny thing this thread was here today! Just last night I walked on to the floor at the beginning of my shift and straight into the middle of a delivery. Our nurse manager is very big on us picking up where the other nurses are no matter WHAT is going on .... anyway, the bed was already broked down and the patients legs were up - pushing. I walked in, took my place at her side and started coaching her. As soon as the baby was out I realized that I had been a part of one of this woman's most important moments in life and she didn't even know my name! I looked down at her and said, "Hi, I'm Tammy." Every one cracked up!
I was taught to always introduce myself as most have stated on this thread. Security is a very real issue these days, so I can empathize with those who don't give out their last names.
To 58flyer: I wouldn't feel comfortable disclosing this much info in most situations. It would be nice to be able to do this, but in many areas, it just wouldn't be wise. How do you differentiate between a criminal and an average citizen?
" No doubt there is some justification to not providing your last name. But it begs the question, "If you don't trust me enough to let me know who is treating me, then why should I trust you to treat me?" Trust is a 2 way street. What are you trying to hide? I can understand it if treating a criminal, but I think the average citizen has a right to know who is involved in their care and what qualifies them to be there. You can't have professionalism without accountability, and you can't have accountability without identification.
I am not concerned about an MA taking my bp or temp, but the more they do the more I want to know who is doing it. My safety and security is important to me. This past week I had a stress test with Cardiolite and even though the lady had no name tag on, I knew her first and last name, her medical qualifications, where she went to school, what part of town she lived in, what restaurant she worked at while in school, and where she spent the Memorial Day weekend, before she even started the IV. Of course I would have been happy with just a name and quals, but once the rapport started, it just kept on. I trusted her, she trusted me, it went just fine"
I always smile and say Hello - my name is Roy - I will be your student nurse today. It is a great way to break the ice, and besides - it lets the patients know that yes - this big bear really can speak - and that I belong there in the hospital.
I think it needs to be routine for anyone in healthcare to always intiate any interaction with a patient by an introduction of their name, title and what they are planning to do with you. To go about it any other way is simply rude and disrespective to patients and families. This situation reminders me of the actions of an orthopedic surgeon one day how he flung the sliding glass doors open to my patients' room, turned on the overhead light and whipped the covers back and didn't say but two words to the patient.
TazziRN, RN
6,487 Posts
i just read through the other responses. we NEVER give out our last names and our tags only have our last initial. if someone wants to complain or pay a compliment about me i tell them, i'm the only xxx in the department. if you give my supervisor my first name she will know who you're talking about.