What do your patients call you?

[jcgrund]

I am interested in becoming a nurse practitioner, someday, and I have worked with a few great NP's. I was wondering what do you tell your patients to call you? One NP I know introduces herself by her first name, Sally, (not real name) and I have heard the patients call the NP lots of different things, including Dr. Sally (not real name), Ms. Sally, Dr. Smith (not real name), Ms. Smith, etc. It seems the patient isn't quite sure what to call the NP unless they give them a title to go with the name. So, what do you tell patients to call you?

[pedspnp]

i always introduce my self as Debbie I am a pediatric nurse practitioner, please call me Debbie. Most refer to me by my first name, but there are a few who call me Dr. McCoy. One of the guys who does our IT stuff calls me Dr McCoy because he said he is a big star trek fan even though he knows I am a NP:jester:

[BCgradnurse, MSN, RN, NP]

I get the Dr. thing all the time, no matter how often I correct patients. Most of my patients are from cultures where NPs do not exist, and in their eyes it is disrespectful to call me by my first name.

[allennp]

I frequently deal with this but it becomes sort of background noise for me. I introduce myself with my first name and say "I am a nurse practitioner" Seemingly the older generation will persistently call me Dr. I genrally am quite clear in a joking way to let them know that No I am not a DR but a NP" I will do this once or twice then let it go. Often I will laugh with them and say "nooo not a Dr., been called worse but I will let you by this time..." or something along that theme. Its important that patients know that NP's do what I do (independent role in a ED/UC) and to broaden the minds of patients one pt at a time, the professional role we have and what pt's can depend on. Sort of feel like that old Greek myth of rollling the giant rock up hill. LOL . Day to day I do not think about it. Mostly a non issue in my community.

a

[westcoastgirl]

they call me by first name or they'll say "doc" but when I correct them most will say yes yes I know you're a nurse practitioner but you're essentially my doc (I am a primary care provider). So they know I am an ARNP but basically don't have a quick way of addressing me. I do wish it'd be more common to have people say "NP Smith" but I guess it doesn't quite roll off the tongue for most people.

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

by my first name. My last name is unpronounceable to most people anyway.

[ak127]

"I'm X, I'm a NP filling in for Dr. X today" (im currently locum tenens)

"So, you're not a doctor? What do I call you?"

"No, I'm not a doctor, I work for a living (Army joke- only if I think they'll get it) I answer to anything your grandma wouldn't pinch you for"

[MoreThanAJob]

Often I will laugh with them and say "nooo not a Dr., been called worse but I will let you by this time..." or something along that theme. Its important that patients know that NP's do what I do (independent role in a ED/UC) and to broaden the minds of patients one pt at a time, the professional role we have and what pt's can depend on. Sort of feel like that old Greek myth of rollling the giant rock up hill. LOL .

a

I like that!!

[Dr. Tammy, FNP/GNP-C]

I always introduce myself as “Dr. my last name, a nurse practitioner”. It’s important to separate between that of an earned practice-based degree and that of a role/profession. Most of the public, including some in the health care field have a difficult time distinguishing between that of a practice-based degree (DNP, DPM, DVM, DDS, MD, PharmD, DO), a research-based degree (PhD, DNSc, EdD) and that of a role/ profession (nurse practitioner, dentist, podiatrist, vet, physician, optometrist, etc.). This is primarily because organized medicine hijacked the term “doctor” around 125 years ago from academia and have claimed ownership of the title ever since.

Fortunately, nursing assumes a leadership role in providing education for clients as to eliminate uncertainty.

In all likelihood, by the time you enter a NP program, you will more than likely graduate with a doctorate degree.

[CRF250Xpert]

Mr. X for me. I think it cheapens our credibility to be first name basis familiar with our patients. No physician is going to say "Hi Mrs. Jones, I'm Bob - what brings you to the clinic?"

For the first thousand that called me Doc, I corrected them. Then I realized how much faster it was to ignore that and get the encounter done.

[PNP4KIDZ, BSN, RN]

The docs at my work refer to me as Nurse Practitioner "last name" if we visit a patient together. I think this is very respectable. I have to agree with the statement about the first name a bit. I think it reflects a higher level of professionalism with the last name. Just a thought.

[eglide87]

I have always gone by my first name and always will. I intro my self as first name and i am the NP today. The hospital where i work is very anti-hierarchy and we are on first name basis with physcians. NP's in general are too caught up in "what should the patient's call me?" We need to be spending more time worrying about bigger issues than our titles. People don't care about titles as long as they are receiving quality healthcare. IMO...