Physician Names

I find it kind of interesting what physicians are called in the hospital, especially at various stages of training.

Residents are always called by their first names. Always. They've got the title "Dr." at this point, but using it except in official documents almost never gets used. The odd time I'll see a resident introduce themselves with the "Dr." title to patients, mostly to emphasize that despite looking young, they are in fact a doctor who will be responsible for their care, but it's not all that common. The trend I'm noticing is that particularly young-looking physicians, especially shorter women, do this more often, I assume to ward off the unfortunate assumption many patients will make that this person is their nurse or a medical student, not their doctor.

Fully-trained physicians almost always introduce themselves by their title and last name. Residents generally address them by their title, though there are certainly exceptions, especially in small programs. Nurses tend to move from title and last name to first name as they get older, which I think is a decent way to subtly convey seniority and keep physicians from getting too big of a head. After what is often 20 years of working, these nurses have more than earned the right to address their physician colleagues the same way those physicians address them (though it should arguably be equal from the start).

What I find especially interesting is how fully-trained physicians are referred to among residents and non-physicians. The first name seems to be used for physicians who are particularly liked, once again conveying a degree of familiarity. But the first name is also often used for physicians who are particularly disliked, almost as a way to knock them down a peg. Physicians who are neither loved nor hated get their title and last name used.

Fellows are another interesting case. In most cases, they're fully-qualified physicians, even though they're still in training. They've passed their certification tests, they can practice independently. Yet they're pretty much always referred to by their first names.

Anyway, nothing overly meaningful, just an interesting sociological pattern in the complex culture of medicine!