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• Re: [How good are doctors at introducing themselves? #hellomynameis]
  Samar Babiker, Shams Abdalla, Ana Manzar, Yazied Ben Ramadan and Tarek Boumrah
  Published on: 23 September 2019

• Published on: 23 September 2019

  Re: [How good are doctors at introducing themselves? #hellomynameis]

  • Samar Babiker, Medical Student St Georges University of London
  • Other Contributors:
    • Shams Abdalla, Medical Student
    • Ana Manzar, Medical Student
    • Yazied Ben Ramadan, Medical Student
    • Tarek Boumrah, Medical Student

  Dear Editor,

  It was a pleasure reading the explorative study by Gillen et al, which focused on the effects of introductions and handshakes on patient satisfaction by the end of a consultation. The study concludes that the majority of patients expected such gestures; which was received positively. The results reinforced how powerful the #hellomynameis campaign was; given it was a lucrative collective effort which ultimately made patients feel comfortable. The paper demonstrates how these simple, yet overlooked, consultation techniques are pivotal in building a positive rapport with patients, translating into a successful patient-doctor experience.

  On reflection of our own experiences as medical students, introducing oneself is one of the first communication skills we are trained to do. Nailing your introduction is taught to be the basis of forming a courteous and lasting first impression. As students, we spend excessive amounts of time trying to formulate a focused history, sifting through our medical knowledge in search for the next question to ask in order to rule in and out conditions. It’s fair to say that the first few attempts at history taking are longer than an average consultation with a senior clinician. Therefore, we agree with Gillen et al that clinicians and by extension, medical students- should introduce themselves by their full name and state their objectives so that the patient feels at ease knowing who they are speaking to. Furthermore, impl...

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  Dear Editor,

  It was a pleasure reading the explorative study by Gillen et al, which focused on the effects of introductions and handshakes on patient satisfaction by the end of a consultation. The study concludes that the majority of patients expected such gestures; which was received positively. The results reinforced how powerful the #hellomynameis campaign was; given it was a lucrative collective effort which ultimately made patients feel comfortable. The paper demonstrates how these simple, yet overlooked, consultation techniques are pivotal in building a positive rapport with patients, translating into a successful patient-doctor experience.

  On reflection of our own experiences as medical students, introducing oneself is one of the first communication skills we are trained to do. Nailing your introduction is taught to be the basis of forming a courteous and lasting first impression. As students, we spend excessive amounts of time trying to formulate a focused history, sifting through our medical knowledge in search for the next question to ask in order to rule in and out conditions. It’s fair to say that the first few attempts at history taking are longer than an average consultation with a senior clinician. Therefore, we agree with Gillen et al that clinicians and by extension, medical students- should introduce themselves by their full name and state their objectives so that the patient feels at ease knowing who they are speaking to. Furthermore, implementing non-verbal gestures such as handshakes upon introduction and having a compassionate demeanour will encourage the patient to give a more thorough and engaging history-increasing the likelihood of a positive patient-doctor experience amongst the sick and often irritable.1

  Although the literature suggests the consensus is that it is encouraged to have thorough introductions, there still remains grey area regarding both clinicians and patients’ perspectives on what constitutes to be the most appropriate method of greeting (handshake, introductions, first name only, first and last names). An observational study by Makoul et al conveyed a consistent pattern for males and females, African or white patients and patients across educational levels, whereby shaking hands was positively received across these categories as an appropriate introduction.2 However, Marcinowicz et al reported that handshakes were of the less frequent non-verbal cues practiced, more often replaced by tone of voice, eye contact and facial expressions.3

  It is difficult to offer reliable conclusions when it comes to the effects of ethnicity on the different subtypes of introductions, due to the scarce literature to benchmark with this study. However, focusing on Gillen et al alone, the ethnicity of the patient was not used to draw any correlations, arguably because of the lack of data on non-Caucasian participants. Furthermore, there is limited data on religious groups, which would have been interesting in analysis, considering religious influence is a potential confounding factor to the results of the study.

  Gillen et al does not necessarily address or offer conclusive answers to the question of what caused the lack of introduction. For example, it is known that for some members of the Muslim community, shaking hands is not always common practice between people of opposite genders4. Therefore, as a melting pot of medical students with various ethnicities, faiths and worldly views - we want to use this letter to highlight the importance of being receptive to peoples’ body language and to be sensitive towards their way of life.

  We offer a suggestion that the lack of “handshakes” in introductions may have been associated with religious or ethnic practices, and for the study to take into consideration a cohort of clinicians who are heavily influenced by these external factors. We also suggest that an introduction of a patient quota per ethnic background could be used in order to investigate the effects of ethnicity as a single variable on the types of introductions offered.
  Finally, there was a heavy focus on the patients’ expectations when it comes to having an introduction made and which type is preferred. We suggest that an interesting angle would be to consider the clinicians needs too.

  In summary, we agree that introducing yourself to patients is an excellent way of building satisfactory doctor-patient relationships. However, the sensitivities related to the type of introduction and religious or cultural backgrounds might have provided answers for the lack of introduction by some clinicians if it were to be explored in more detail. It is also equally as important to look at both the clinician and patients’ preferences when it comes to preferred gestures, so that consultations are tailored to meet both parties comfort thresholds.

  References:
  1) E Bedell S, B Graboys T. Hand to Hand. Pubmed [Internet]. 2002 [cited 23 September 2019];. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1495090/
  2) Makoul G, Zick A, Green M. An Evidence-Based Perspective on Greetings in Medical Encounters. JAMA internal medicine [Internet]. 2007 [cited 23 September 2019];. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/412602
  3) Marcinowicz L, Konstantynowicz J, Godlewski C. Patients' perceptions of GP non-verbal communication: a qualitative study. British journal of medical practice [Internet]. 2010 [cited 23 September 2019];. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2814260/
  4) Attum B, Waheed A, Shamoon Z.
  Cultural Competence in the Care of Muslim Patients and their families. [Updated 2019 Jun 15]
  In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2019 Jan-.
  Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499933/

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  Conflict of Interest:
  None declared.

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