# when in the hospital, best way to ask "who are you and what is your job" **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 29, 2014, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818 "2014-08-29T00:47:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/21 "2014-08-29T08:22:44Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > Arrendajo: These are the people getting you healthy. I STRONGLY suggest NOT pissing them off, which your approach is sure to. Oh, that depends… I can see most of the doctors in my hometown’s hospital recognizing a companion smartass and having a laugh. Others would wonder when did their white coats start looking like the printed ones housekeeping wears and answer cautiously and politely. They would all verify that it was indeed a joke and not a problem with the person’s perceptions. One of the things that prompted having different “ranks” wear easily identifiable clothing was to have less questions of the “who are you and what are you doing in my mother’s room” type. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 8:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/22 "2014-08-29T08:32:17Z")
Almost 17 years ago, I gave birth to my son in a well-respected teaching hospital nearby. I was thoroughly aware that it was, in fact, a teaching hospital, and that students might be involved in my care. However, when I was just at that stage of “fully dilated, heavily medicated,” a resident and a herd of interns wandered in. I was treated to about two minutes of “Patient is a well-nourished 28-year-old, blah, blah, blah” before I told the resident to scram. He continued to lecture - “Obstetrics patients are prone to emotional reactions.” I mustered enough self-righteous dignity to inform the resident that I wasn’t being emotional, I just objected to being treated like a sideshow attraction for the edification of a half-dozen nameless strangers standing downwind of my exposed nether bits. I hope that some of those students were listening when I informed the resident that I was a human being, not a number on a chart, and that all patients deserved to be treated like people. Of course, my heavily-medicated self then directed the attending nurse-practioner to go kick that SOB of a resident. So I might not have been quite as dignified as I hoped. But the NP thought it was funny. But seriously: I have absolutely no problem with medical students. They have to learn. In fact, when my youngest was born, I let a nursing student practice on me. My doctor wanted an IV in place, and the student asked whether it was okay for her to do that. I let her, with the stipulation that she was unlikely to get a vein in my hand, and really, we should aim for the crook of my elbow. The supervising nurse over-ruled me, and the student nurse tried to get a vein in my hand. That didn’t work. Nor did the second attempt, in my other hand. The supervising nurse tried the third and fourth needle sticks in my wrist. Finally, the “pro” was called in. She left me with nerve damage in my right hand after trying again for a vein there. Finally, the IV was inserted - just below the crook of my elbow. I honestly felt terrible for the student - she was caught between a supervisor who thought that patients are designed by the book, and a patient who was aware of her own body. But at least I knew the student’s role in my care! ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/23 "2014-08-29T09:58:09Z")
Ask. You’re entitled to know. If I walked into a patient’s room and was asked “who are you and what is your role?” I’d be mortified because I should have identified myself straight away. This won’t happen where I work because nursing staff are immediately identifiable by uniform but it’s still plain, ordinary manners to tell the patient/parents who you are. ---
**Author:** ![shiftless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9c0ed/32.png) [@shiftless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shiftless)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/24 "2014-08-29T12:29:10Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > I’d like to know the same thing. Wait 'til you’re in the maternity ward and some lady in scrubs starts wheeling your newborn out the door saying, “you just take a rest, mommy and daddy, just going to do some tests and be right back!” Wait ten minutes and then look at one another: “uh, who was that?!” I followed those people down the hall and didn’t take my eyes off that baby. I’d heard the storys about babies getting switched and that one was mine. When my wife was in early labor, a man I’d never seen before, in street clothes, walks into the room straight to my wife, lifts the edge of her gown and sticks his hand up between her legs. He looks at me with a grin and says, “2 centimeters!” I was so stunned I didn’t think to jump on him and start punching, fortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/25 "2014-08-29T17:34:17Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > In fact, when my youngest was born, I let a nursing student practice on me. Possible parsing options: A) Really young, really hungry student B) Older student with lactation fantasies B) Recently pregnant student who, having trouble feeding her own baby, thought you looked both hungry and able to demonstrate Not sure which I prefer 😛 ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/26 "2014-08-29T17:36:18Z")
And he did this without washing his hands first? Yikes. I’ve been in hospitals a lot. 99.9% of all hospital employees have been terrific. The few who were not were horrible. In each case I wrote to the hospital administration describing their misdeeds in detail. I encourage others to do the same. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/27 "2014-08-29T17:58:29Z")
If he made his credentials clear, I missed them, sorry. There’s a right and a wrong way to advocate for yourself. Being an asshole is clearly the wrong way. Can we at least agree on THAT? Fucking with scared sick people is NOT okay. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/28 "2014-08-29T18:12:32Z")
How is asking someone “Who are you and what do you do here?” fucking with scared sick people? I’d say someone sticking his hand up your crotch without identifying himself is fucking with scared sick people. Asking questions of an unknown person in your room isn’t. Are we reading the same words here? You have actual, you know, professionals in this thread advocating for people to speak up for themselves. ---
**Author:** ![DummyGladHands](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/49beb7/32.png) [@DummyGladHands](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DummyGladHands)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/29 "2014-08-29T18:13:36Z")
I make a point of introducing myself, who knows if they even have the right patient, but if they do, they’re kind of bound to introduce themselves, then I ask them what they do. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/30 "2014-08-29T21:21:16Z")
> [@Becky2844](#): > > Every time you see a new face. Indeed. In fact, the outdated rituals of polite society offer up a damn good cover for inquisitiveness: “Hi, We haven’t met, have we? I’m gnoitall, and this is gnos\_even\_more, my wife. And you are…?” ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/31 "2014-08-29T21:55:11Z")
> [@Q.N.Jones](#): > > Hospital administrator here. Definitely ask. What you are experiencing is generally considered to be bad practice. Practitioners entering the patient room should identify themselves and their role, and badges should be worn above the waist so they can be easily seen and read. Ophthalmology clinic director here, and I came in to say the exact same thing. Anyone coming into your room for the first time for any task more specialized than bringing you a pudding cup should introduce him- or herself (with occupation) and explain the purpose of the visit. Period. If they have neglected to do that, you are not being rude by asking. Quite the opposite. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/32 "2014-08-29T22:22:59Z")
It’s the people who take glee with concealing their identities from patients. But I think you knew that. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/33 "2014-08-29T22:33:48Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > 😃 > > I’m a nurse. Just ask. Those who matter don’t mind, and those who mind (like Interns) don’t matter. > > This is one reason why I mourn the passing of Nursing Whites. It used to be so darn obvious who the nurse was! > > About the only identity question I find annoying is, “are you a real nurse?” which is what some people say when they mean Registered Nurse. Yes, yes, I am a real nurse. I’m also a Registered Nurse. Tanya is also a real nurse, and she’s a Licensed Practical Nurse. Our titles are different, but we’re both real nurses, thanks. I assure you, if you need blood products or the most dangerous IV drugs, a Registered Nurse will be doing it. Otherwise, Tanya knows everything I do, and more, 'cause she’s been doing this for 30 years and I’ve been doing it for 3. Honestly, I think “are you a real nurse” sometimes means “Are you a nurse because the last person that came in here wearing scrubs took blood, and the person before that came in with a janitor’s cart and emptied the garbage”. I spend a lot of time in hospitals (I’m a caterer) and, while I don’t know the answer, it bugs me that every person even a tangentially involved with the medical field wears scrubs. The receptions wears scrubs, the nurses wear scrubs, the doctors wear scrubs, the janitors wear scrubs, the food people wear scrubs. Now, I understand there’s some coding in the colors, doctors have a certain color, housekeeping another, nurses seem to have a certain degree of freedom, but when a random person walks past me, I have no idea who they are. Some of the hospitals I deliver to have added another badge to the name badge with RN/LPN\*/HOUSEKEEPING/MD in etc in big red letters to make it clearer. I suspect people complained about not knowing who was who, or possibly even confusing housekeeping for nurses and handing things like prescriptions over to them. The worst, IMO, was as medical device rep wearing scrubs (this was in a doctor’s office, not a hospital, but I assume she wears them all the time). To me that was borderline insulting to the people that earned those scrubs. I get that she was trying to fit in and look the part, but if I was a nurse, I don’t think I’d be happy about it. _Maybe_ if she was a nurse/dr in a former life, but it just didn’t seem right. So, I don’t think they’re asking if you’re an RN or an LPN, they just want to make sure you weren’t coming in to serve lunch or clean up puke. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/34 "2014-08-29T22:53:55Z")
I think you’re correct for many people (hence my bemoaning the loss of nursing whites), but for some people, they literally think RN means, “Real Nurse.” 😃 And others draw distinctions between LPNs and RNs that really aren’t warranted. (There are differences in our training and scope of practice, but they dictate which patients a nurse will be assigned to, so if you’re given an LPN, relax. This is good news. It means you’re not facing the really bad stuff.) ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/35 "2014-08-29T23:14:17Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > I think you’re correct for many people (hence my bemoaning the loss of nursing whites), but for some people, they literally think RN means, “Real Nurse.” 😃 And others draw distinctions between LPNs and RNs that really aren’t warranted. (There are differences in our training and scope of practice, but they dictate which patients a nurse will be assigned to, so if you’re given an LPN, relax. This is good news. It means you’re not facing the really bad stuff.) I do like the way the hospital I was mentioned put big bold letters on their staff. In your hospital, for example, it would be nice if it said NURSE, somewhere. I don’t care if you’re an RN or an LPN or any other kind of N. To me, or most other patients I assume, you’re a nurse, that’s really all that matters, I don’t know what the difference is and, frankly, I really don’t care, I just want to ask a question and the next nurse or doctor that comes in here is going to get asked, I just want to make sure you’re not the food guy or radiologist. They look just like [this](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r4TwlCj4Ly4/U2z87N5SUPI/AAAAAAAAIeM/LDxNDztE6XA/s1600/photo+2+%2815%29.JPG). I honestly wouldn’t care if it just said ‘nurse’ only because I think a lot of people don’t know what an LPN is. Not that they don’t know what type of nurse it is, they might not know that it’s a nurse. Doctor, housekeeping etc, all have similar ones. What I’d really like to see is non-medical personal not wearing scrubs, but that’s just my opinion. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/36 "2014-08-29T23:29:19Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > The worst, IMO, was as medical device rep wearing scrubs (this was in a doctor’s office, not a hospital, but I assume she wears them all the time). To me that was borderline insulting to the people that earned those scrubs. I get that she was trying to fit in and look the part, but if I was a nurse, I don’t think I’d be happy about it. _Maybe_ if she was a nurse/dr in a former life, but it just didn’t seem right. It’s often not about the look of the thing, but about hygiene rules. A lot of non-clinicians have to be in hygiene-controlled areas. Medical device reps fall into that category (sometimes). Whenever our Performance Excellence staff goes in there, they wear scrubs, even though they are business people who normally wear suits. They get used for dirty jobs, period. (The ones that the hospital launders, anyway.) They aren’t a symbol of educational or professional attainment. (Unless they are the personal, color-coded scrubs that some hospitals use to identify specific professionals.) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/37 "2014-08-29T23:48:28Z")
> [@etv78](#): > > It’s the people who take glee with concealing their identities from patients. But I think you knew that. And which ones do that? Any in your experience? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2014, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/38 "2014-08-29T23:48:32Z")
> [@carlotta](#): > > when in the hospital, best way to ask “who are you and what is your job” “Who are you and what is your job?” Although I once woke up and asked the person, “Where am I, who are you, and why do I hurt so much?” The answers were, “In the hospital, I’m your doctor, and you fell and broke a lot of ribs.” A very simple and direct conversation that hurt no feelings. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/39 "2014-08-30T00:06:21Z")
> [@Q.N.Jones](#): > > It’s often not about the look of the thing, but about hygiene rules. > > A lot of non-clinicians have to be in hygiene-controlled areas. Medical device reps fall into that category (sometimes). Whenever our Performance Excellence staff goes in there, they wear scrubs, even though they are business people who normally wear suits. They get used for dirty jobs, period. (The ones that the hospital launders, anyway.) They aren’t a symbol of educational or professional attainment. (Unless they are the personal, color-coded scrubs that some hospitals use to identify specific professionals.) I can understand that, and I learned years ago that the hospital washes those for you and it’s not like the food staff or housekeeping getting confused for medical staff is a big problem, it just always seemed odd to me that to a random patient they all kinda look the same. Also, the medical device rep I was dealing with that day, isn’t like an ortho type one that sits in on surgeries helping the doctor pick out the right length rod or decide which type of anchors to use. She was selling a wearable external defib vest and we were at a doctor’s office in an office building which, I assure you, wasn’t sterile. I assume she was wearing scrubs because she wanted to look ‘medical’. But that’s neither here nor there, I only brought it up because in 10+ years of catering thousands upon thousands of drug rep lunches, I’ve never seen a rep (medical device or otherwise) wearing anything but really nice looking outfit. ---
**Author:** ![Q.N.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/3da27b/32.png) [@Q.N.Jones](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.N.Jones)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2014, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818/40 "2014-08-30T00:18:46Z")
> [@Joey\_P](#): > > She was selling a wearable external defib vest and we were at a doctor’s office in an office building which, I assure you, wasn’t sterile. I assume she was wearing scrubs because she wanted to look ‘medical’. Or she was putting the vest on to demonstrate the product, and it’s easier to do that in a loose-fitting scrub top than it is in women’s business attire (which often restricts movement). But we digress. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/when-in-the-hospital-best-way-to-ask-who-are-you-and-what-is-your-job/696818.md?page=3)