Whether you're a first or second year medical student encountering your first model patients in Clinical Skills lab, or you're a third or fourth year on rotations, one question ultimately arises. How do you introduce yourself to patients?
We've been trained to say the following: "Hello, I'm Student Doctor Relic."
For some reason, I feel like a bit of a pompous fool introducing myself as such. It's as though I want everyone to know that I'm not a doctor yet, but I will be...so I'm going to stick the "Doctor" title in there somewhere and expect to be addressed as such.
I'm also imagining how I would react as a patient to the same introduction. My first thought? "So you're not an actual doctor? Please don't touch me."
I would much prefer extending my hand as "Micah, a medical student." It better reflects my position on the totem pole and the fact that at this point in my training, I know next to nothing.
So if you happen to see me next year in the hospital or a clinic, hopefully for a routine check-up and nothing serious, understand that I am not being pretentious or trying to appear more official. And please don't call me "Student Doctor."
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