Don’t ask me what I’d like to be called
My previous post was about symmetry in addressing each other in clinical communication. Some responses indicated that clinicians ask patients what they would like to be called. And this is what I would like to comment on. Continue reading “Don’t ask me what I’d like to be called”
Call me symmetrically
I have recently written about the great #hellomynameis campaign. About doctors introducing themselves. I raised the issue of the choice we have when we introduce ourselves, from very formal all the way to the diminutive forms of our names. But there is the other side of the introduction problem. Who am I for you, doctor? What do you call me?
Measuring loneliness
A few days ago my Twitter timeline included a reference to a scale measuring loneliness. The 4-point scale is, in fact based on a longer scale, which is not exactly the same (the differences are quite extensive), but, hey, who cares, right? Still, the scale got me thinking. Can you actually measure loneliness? So, I decided to look at the scale.
#hellomynameis
The hellomynameis campaign makes sense. It was started by Dr Kate Granger, who, as a patient, noticed that not all members of staff introduced themselves. And so she suggested that health professionals pledge to introduce themselves to every patient they meet by saying “Hello, my name is….” This post is a linguist’s take on #hellomynameis. I want to explore Dr Granger’s intuition to use a particular kind of phrase as a means of starting a conversation with a patient. Continue reading “#hellomynameis”