Hi I'm ______ !!!

This forum made possible through the generous support of SDN members, donors, and sponsors. Thank you.
B

bnichols0330

Senior Member
7+ Year Member
15+ Year Member
20+ Year Member
Joined
May 9, 2001
Messages
126
Reaction score
2
Members don't see this ad.
I have a question to those of you out there ahead of myself. I am a MS1, and I am just beginning to see patients to take histories, and I was wondering what the most appropriate way to introduce myself is. I think our MS2 professors teach to say "Hi, I am student physician jo schmo." That sounds so "wanna-be" to me though. When my mentor is there he introduces me as one of his student doctors. I have been saying "Hi, I am Jo Schmo. I am a student doctor helping Dr. Doe out today." I don't think anything sounds good b/c I am not a doctor and that is who the patient has come to see. Don't take this the wrong way, every patient I have seen has been very receptive and open no matter how I introduce myself I was just wondering what proper protocol is. Thanks.
 
We are instructed to say "Hello, my name is______and I am a ___ year medical student."

They really frown on the term "student doctor" at my school.
 
They told us all that crap too, as though it is such an important topic. One of my biggest pet peeves about medical school is that they spend so much time trying to teach these unteachable things. Either you know how to talk to other people or you don't. Either you have the characterisitics of a professional or you don't. It's funny to watch these people on the wards reciting stuff like "that must have been extremely difficult for you" like a bunch of automatons.
My advice is to just introduce yourself as you would to anyone else. eg. "Hey there Mr. Jones, I'm Bob. I'm a medical student working with Dr. Smith." or whatever comes to mind. Memorize biochem, anatomy etc. etc. etc., but don't memorize scripts for how to talk to patients.
 
Think about it this way :
When someone you know asks you what you do, do you say "I am a student doctor" or "I am a student physician"? Heck no... You say "I'm a medical student". Why pretend to be something you aren't - people say "student doctor" hoping that the patient will focus on the "doctor" part of it and forget the rest. The fact is, most people are still receptive to you interviewing them when they know you are a medical student.
The wierd thing is, I think most medical students are fine being called medical students, but it is more the residents and attendings who come up with these odd euphamisms. I think it is also important to mention your year (as in "I am a second year medical student") because there is a huge difference between a first year and a fourth year, just as there is a difference between a med student and a resident.
This question comes up a lot - there have been several times when I was introduced as a "student doctor" or something of that sort. That gets a bit more tricky - the way I figure it, it is important for me to be as accurate as possible when introducing myself, and to inform someone of my role if it is clear that they don't understand it.
 
I just say that I am a medical student. I find that most people don't really know anything about medical school so I could say i was a 6th year and they wouldnt know the difference. I've had a few patients ask me what year I'm in and how many I have left while we make chit chat during the exam, but for intro purposes I think it flows better to say: Hi I'm so and so, I'm a medical student...etc
 
Doctors don't introduce themselves as "graduate medical students" so don't introduce yourself as a "student doctor".

Patients need to fully understand that you are a medical student and not a physician. 😉
 
I just say, 'Hi, I'm so-and-so, I'm a medical student working with Dr. X' or something along those lines.
 
I was in a clinic last week and was introducing myself as a first year medical student. The 3rd year FP resident introduced himself as a 7th year medical student jokingly.
 
Originally posted by KyGrlDr2B
I just say that I am a medical student. I find that most people don't really know anything about medical school so I could say i was a 6th year and they wouldnt know the difference. I've had a few patients ask me what year I'm in and how many I have left while we make chit chat during the exam, but for intro purposes I think it flows better to say: Hi I'm so and so, I'm a medical student...etc
Click to expand...

yeah, but i wanna give them credit enough that they will eventually learn what a medical student is, esp if they're coming to an academic hospital for health reasons. by saying im a 1st yr med stu, and possibly explaining upon request what that means, im also helping present myself in a more personable light, helping make the connection at every opp.
 
Usually one of two ways:

"Hello/good morning/good afternoon, Mr./Mrs. <insert patient name here>, I'm <my name>, a medical student working with Dr. <whoever>."

"Hello/good morning/good afternoon, Mr./Mrs. <insert patient name here>, I'm medical student <my name>."
 
be as vague about your station as possible...introduce yourself as say "Hi, my name is such and such, I'm working under/with Dr. such and such this month." Nothing causes as much credibility loss as the title "medical student." However, I also find the title student doctor pretentious. Don't try to be something you're not, but you don't have to mention exactly what you are...did that make sense?
 
Originally posted by bnichols0330
I have a question to those of you out there ahead of myself. I am a MS1, and I am just beginning to see patients to take histories, and I was wondering what the most appropriate way to introduce myself is. I think our MS2 professors teach to say "Hi, I am student physician jo schmo." That sounds so "wanna-be" to me though. When my mentor is there he introduces me as one of his student doctors. I have been saying "Hi, I am Jo Schmo. I am a student doctor helping Dr. Doe out today." I don't think anything sounds good b/c I am not a doctor and that is who the patient has come to see. Don't take this the wrong way, every patient I have seen has been very receptive and open no matter how I introduce myself I was just wondering what proper protocol is. Thanks.
Click to expand...

As a medical student:

"Hello. I'm Andrew Doan, and I'm a 3rd year medical student working with Dr. Smith."

As a resident:

"Hello. I'm Dr. Doan, and I'm a resident working with Dr. Smith."
 
Thanks everyone. I am glad to see that I am not the only one who thinks saying "student physician" is not the best move. I appreciate your advice.
 
Originally posted by Andrew_Doan
As a medical student:

"Hello. I'm Andrew Doan, and I'm a 3rd year medical student working with Dr. Smith."
Click to expand...


We're supposed to say "I'm student doctor xxxx." I think it sounds silly, so I do what you did.
 
Yeah, medical student is certainly the standard at Penn State. Now that I'm a fourth year I have taken to introducing myself as a "senior" medical student as patients know exactly where that puts you in the scheme of things.

Casey
 
Originally posted by DrMom
We're supposed to say "I'm student doctor xxxx." I think it sounds silly, so I do what you did.
Click to expand...

They tell us that too at LECOM, but I have never called myself "Student Doctor." I always say, "Hi, Mr./Mrs. So-and-So. I'm (my name), a medical student working with (doctor's name)." I also think it sounds very odd to say "student doctor."
 
I'm surprised so many people here frown on introducing yourself as a 'student doctor.' That is how I usually introduce myself, if there is any confusion I also wear my ID badge with the word MEDICAL STUDENT in big red letters in open view. I've found that many patients don't even really know what being a medical student is, on more than one occasion I've been asked what I'm majoring in (after introducing myself as a medical student.) I prefer 'student doctor' because it let's them know you're a student, and that you're studying to be a doctor.
Frankly I don't worry about sounding pretentious, I think that stuff is for the birds.

Of course, in the past some residents/attendings have routinely introduced me to patients as Doctor '___.' I dig that. 😉
 
Kosmo, I agree that so many people don't have a clue what "medical student" means. How the heck do people think doctors become doctors?!?!?! It's worse for me because I can't tell you how many times I get "so, you are training to be a nurse?" later in the conversation. Grrr, one morning on peds one of the nursing preceptors actually asked me who my patient was. When I started listing the 4 pts I had, she realized I wasn't a nursing student. Evidently the full pockets of my white coat, stethescope around my neck, ID that says "medical student", the fact that I was writing a progress note IN THE CHART, and my all around presence that I'm certainly a medical student were all overlooked for the fact that I'm a woman.

Anyway, I use "medical student (working with Dr. Z)" because I think "student doctor" sounds pretentious. However, most of the attendings use "student doctor" when referring to us.
 
Originally posted by keraven
Kosmo, I agree that so many people don't have a clue what "medical student" means. How the heck do people think doctors become doctors?!?!?! It's worse for me because I can't tell you how many times I get "so, you are training to be a nurse?" later in the conversation. Grrr, one morning on peds one of the nursing preceptors actually asked me who my patient was. When I started listing the 4 pts I had, she realized I wasn't a nursing student. Evidently the full pockets of my white coat, stethescope around my neck, ID that says "medical student", the fact that I was writing a progress note IN THE CHART, and my all around presence that I'm certainly a medical student were all overlooked for the fact that I'm a woman.
Click to expand...

Yep, I've gotten that whole "so you're going to be a nurse" response to my saying I'm in med school thing waaaayyy too many times. Mind-boggling.



BTW: I was working with a model patient this week and introduced myself with my name and said that I'm a medical student. A few minutes later she asked when the student was coming in...for some reason she thought I was the physician, not the student. I think she must not have been listening.
 
I have also been surprised by how many people don't equate "I'm going to medical school " with "She is studying to be a doctor". It isn't just older people who assume that female=nurse; I've had lots of people in their 20's or 30's make the same assumption.

Yesterday, I had my first patient call me 'Doc'. I was working a shift in the ED and he said "Hey Doc, can you......" I told him I wasn't a doctor; that I was a medical student. He said: "OK, Doc!" He was a bit intoxicated (big surprise!) but it is still kinda cool.
 
Originally posted by DrMom


BTW: I was working with a model patient this week and introduced myself with my name and said that I'm a medical student. A few minutes later she asked when the student was coming in...for some reason she thought I was the physician, not the student. I think she must not have been listening.
Click to expand...

Perhaps it's your age? 😉
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
Found out I'm fourth quartile in my class. Are strong academic IM programs out of reach for me now?
Replies
8
Views
615
janprincetondoc
J
D
  • Poll Poll
I'm torn between FM and Psych :(
Replies
14
Views
4K
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight
I
MS1 and I'm pretty sure I'm going to fail my first block exam in a week. Should I just drop out?
Replies
13
Views
5K
yeetus
Y
PathNeuroIMorFM
  • Question Question
How to gauge if I'm competitive for a very specific program?
Replies
11
Views
3K
deleted1168269
D
narla_hotep
Is it a bad idea to specialize in ID if I'm immunocompromised?
Replies
2
Views
993
Tenk
Tenk
Top