"Sir or Ma'am" when addressing physicians?

Nurses General Nursing

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  1. When addressing physicians, I..

    • 14
      ALWAYS say, "sir" or "ma'am"
    • 21
      SOMETIMES say, "sir or "ma'am"
    • 25
      NEVER say, "sir" or "ma'am"
    • 35
      You're kidding, right? This is 2012!
    • 32
      It's simply a personal choice.

116 members have participated

Just curious to the general opinion of fellow nurses. Raised and practice in the south, but ran into a funny debate this past week. While I was raised to say ma'am and sir, it is not my practice to do so when addressing doctors at work. Maybe because I'm older than most of them or perhaps it just isn't customary? I'm not sure.

The debate arose as another coworker and I listened (and cringed) to a nurse on the phone with a doctor. A well raised (by southern standards) 24 year old, he seems to amost be excessive with the, "yes, sir..yes, sir...yes sir" in his telephone conversations. He's a great kid (I only pray mine will turn out so well) and when we mentioned to him he may want to tone down the "sir's" he was visably offended. We tried explaining that he was setting himself up to be "run over" by being submissive, but he didn't buy that--said if he got run over it'd be because he allowed himself to be run over, not because he was being respectful (he may have a point?).

Most of our physician's are not from the south and most that we deal with are residents, so they are also very young.

All this left me pondering what is the PROFESSIONAL standard for addressing physicians?

Food for thought...

For the most part, with a few exceptions, I have always referred to physicians the same way that they refer to me. If they call me by my first name then I call them by their first name. Has never been a problem. Never.

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Dr. is appreciated. After 17 years in training for an MD and a PhD, my boyfriend gets pretty offended if someone refers to him as "Mr.". And technically it's not just an etiquette thing, it's just a proper way to address someone speech-wise. The general rule is that if they are called Dr. professionally, they are always to be called Dr., never Mr./Mrs.. If you send an invite to them as a friend (like a wedding invite), you would use the Dr. too. I guess it has to do with academic titles too. Same for PhD. But if someone attained a PhD and didn't use it, and went to work at Starbucks, no, it wouldn't be necessary to use the Dr. title ever.

I'd just ask them what they want to be called. Of course at home, I like "Mr." when he (the Dr.) does something stupid like leaving the stove on with nothing cooking on it, or driving the wrong way down a one way street. It knocks his ego back into the realm of "you are human too! MISTER". It always amazes me how someone can have such a brilliant career and perfect track record with patients and yet have no common sense with other things in life. Same for surgeons I've known. Can barely keep food on a fork, slobby bobbies tripping over their own shoelaces, yet, true grace in the OR.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Only time I say sir/ma'am is when addressing police officer

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I get grief sometimes because instead of "sir" or 'ma'am" I called doctors "Doctor". Such as "yes Doctor" "no Doctor". As a tech I don't talk to doctors much in an offical capacity, mostly on the phone and I put them on hold to get the nurse.

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Well here is my take on the situation.

I am from the south. And proud of it.

I address everyone as Sir or Ma'am until they give me permission not to. That goes for CNAs, cleaning staff, and Physicians.

Its called being polite/courteous.

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