Professional Courtesy, LLC

Karen Hickman specializes in Etiquette and Protocol Consulting and is based out of Fort Wayne, IN | TEL: 260-486-7758

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Seek Patient Permission

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Seek Patient Permission

It is not unusual for physicians to be shadowed by all sorts of people. Sometimes, college students will seek out summer jobs in a physician’s office to see if they want to consider a career in medicine or even, nursing. Med students will follow physicians for a period of time to gain some practical experience in their field or specialty. And certainly, in teaching hospitals, it is very common for a group of students and physicians to round on patients.

However, regardless of who is following or shadowing the physician, there are some important considerations to be observed.

  • Be sure and seek the patient’s permission before bringing an unexpected person into the patient exam room.

  • Introduce those who are following the physician and let the patient know who they are, and why they are there.

  • Seek patient permission before allowing a student or intern to do a procedure on a patient.

  • Respect the patients right to decline having someone else in the room during their exam or do a procedure on them.

  • Train the people following the physician in patient privacy guidelines.

  • Limit the number people allowed to follow the physician at any one time.

Always remember to put yourself in the patients position. If you were in the same situation would you want to be exposed to crowd? Being naked in a crowd can be a humbling experience for anyone.

YOUR PROFESSIONAL COURTESY EVALUATION

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PROFESSIONAL COURTESY EVALUATION

Your Professional Courtesy Evaluation
Could your professional skills and that of your office or practice use a little tweaking? Respond to the questions below and see what jumps out at you. If most of your answers are “poor” or “fair” more work is needed.

How do you rate your professional courtesy skills?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

How do you rate your courtesy quotient?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you consider yourself to be a good listener?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you consider yourself to be a kind person to your co workers and friends?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Are you a critical person?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you gossip or participate in spreading gossip?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Are you a positive person?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you shake hands and introduce yourself to your patients?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you make good eye contact when speaking to co workers, patients or clients?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you consider yourself to be a good team player?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you welcome new staff members?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you have a “not my job” mentality at work?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

RATE YOUR OFFICE OR MEDICAL PRACTICE

How do you rate the general feel of your office or practice?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Do you think your patients and clients perceive your office to be courteous?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

Is your office welcoming to new staff members and coworkers?

  1. Poor
  2. Fair
  3. Good
  4. Great

What improvements do you feel could be made to improve the courtesy and general tone of your office or practice?

Resolve to be Civil in 2014

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Resolve to be Civil in 2014

Are you the kind who makes New Years resolutions? If so, I’d like to challenge you to be more civil in every aspect of your life. It seems that civility has gone out of style and many of us need to be reminded as to what that means.

Civility is an important frame-work of our society. Without it, we all seem to run a muck and treat each other poorly. The rules of etiquette tell us how to treat each other. It isn’t about pretense; it’s about consideration for others.

As I review some of the posts on social media and in the news, of people being out right mean toward others, I become very sad. When did it become okay to call a beautiful women “fat” because she has held onto a few pounds after having a baby. Or how about those who feel they have the right to insult others because they hold an opposing view on politics, religion or any other social, hot topic.

So in 2014 consider some of these resolutions:

  • If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

  • Talk to people, not about them.

  • Be kind, it costs very little.

  • Do more than your share at work.

  • Be positive. No one likes to work with, or be around negative people.

  • Find the good in everybody.

  • Be grateful for something in your life everyday.

  • Treasure your friends and loved ones.

  • Volunteer somewhere, regardless of how busy you are.

  • Respect the opinions of others, even if they differ from yours.

  • Listen more, talk less.

We have heard many of these points from the time we were very young, but sometimes, in a cynical world, we forget how important they are.

In so many of my seminars people tell me that what I teach is really just common sense…yes, it is. The trouble with common sense is that it is not always very common.

So, I too, will join you in working on this list of resolutions.

Happy 2014.

Reach Out and Touch Your Patients

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More and more, I hear business people say that they don’t like to touch people, shake hands or to be touched by others due to the risk of getting germs. This is a very sad commentary, as far as I am concerned. But even sadder, to me, was to hear nurses say they don’t like to touch their patients because they feel they are unclean or they don’t want to risk getting their germs.

While I appreciate not wanting to get someone’s germs that may cause an illness, I think to take the “no touch” approach with your patients is risky and very damaging to developing a mutually respectful relationship.

Nurses and physicians are certainly taught techniques on hand washing, maintaining sterile fields, dealing with patients who are infectious by using isolation procedures and various other ways to protect themselves and avoid spreading diseases to other people. So why the resistance to touch your patients?

I think it is multifaceted with some of it brought on by how high-tech medicine has become. Healthcare workers are now booting up their computers to enter data and the answers to the questions they ask their patients, often, before they even shake their hand or make eye contact with them. Physicians are now able to do every test imaginable to diagnose patients that it seems rather easy to forget about actually putting your hands on the patient. I have even had people tell me they received a complete physical without ever having taken any clothes off. This is unimaginable to me. If physicians aren’t actually looking at someone’s body, I would guess they are missing some things.

We know from studies that babies who are not touched fail to thrive and some, even die. The human touch is a big part of diagnosing and healing. Imagine the elderly patient who lives alone and has no one to hug them. Touching people and being touched is essential to life. We all seek touch from those we love. Why not make sure it is part of the equation when caring for patients.

So, here are some tips to ensure you make some sort of physical contact with your patients:

  • Upon entering a patient’s room in the hospital or the office exam room, extend your hand to meet them before you go to the computer to start asking questions.

  • If handshaking is not possible, touch the patient on the shoulder, or arm. This is a comforting gesture when consoling them or delivering bad news…something they will appreciate.

  • Spend a few moments talking directly to the patient. Note the color of their eyes to make sure you are making appropriate eye contact.

  • Introduce yourself and let them know what you do and who you are; nurse, tech, P.A., etc.

  • While entering data in your computer, look at the patient while asking the question and then look at the keyboard when entering their answers. Reassure the patient that you are listening to them.

  • Shake hands or extend another touch upon leaving the exam room. Your touch will be noted.

If you still don’t want to touch your patients, maybe you should reevaluate why you went into medicine. Compassion is important in caring for the sick.

And for those business people who don’t like to shake hands…to refuse to shake hands with someone is a huge insult. Shaking hands is the universally accepted way to touch others in almost, every country in the world. So, reach out and touch someone, then go use your antibacterial wipes

Women Judged More Severely than Men With Their Dress

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Women Judged More Severely Than Men With Their Dress

Research has shown us that women are judged much more severely than men, when it comes to how they dress. And in case we forgot that fact, it was recently proven again, in the media a week or so ago with a news piece about Duchess Kate. She and her husband, Prince William, were taking public transportation on one of the red buses in London to get a perspective of what the morning commuters deal with on their way to work every day.

However, what did the media focus on, with a long angle lens, no less? A few errant gray hairs popping up in Princess Kate’s hair. No mention of the good deeds of the day, just speculation as to whether she was letting herself go since she has become a mother. Now, there was no mention of the fact that Prince William is getting a little thin on top or whether he might be letting himself go.

Remember Hillary Clinton being criticized for stepping out without her make-up? Horrors! Who would dare do that. And then we had national news coverage of Mrs. Obama’s new bangs. Are these things worthy of being lead stories in the news? Well, I guess some people think so.

Not fair, but true and another reason women should take care in what they wear to work. It is important to choose wisely so you are taken seriously in your particular field of work.

So here are some of my tips for professional women in regard to their dress.

Follow corporate guidelines. Check out your employee manual and dress accordingly. Not following the guidelines can make you appear non compliant.

Leave sex out of it. Leave the low-cut tops, tight pants and short skirts in your closet when picking your work wardrobe. There should be no cleavage, bare midriffs or bottom cleavage, when bending over, seen at work. Dressing in a sexy manner sabotages how people feel about you as a professional.

Pay attention to details. Make sure your shoes are polished and your purse is not bulging with too much stuff in it. People do notice the little things and if you are not attentive to those things it may cause them to wonder if pay attention to little things in your work.

Err on the side of formality. When in doubt about what to wear, dress up versus down. And if you ever wonder if something is appropriate for work…it’s probably not. You never want to have to apologize for something you have on.

Be well-groomed. Take the time to dry and style your hair and put on a little make-up. You’ll probably feel better and you will look better for sure.

Keep jewelry simple. Accessories are important, but should be kept subtle for work. No noisy bracelets or too many rings. Less is more in the professional world.

Dress for the job you want. If you want to move up in the company, look at what the people above you are wearing and mimic their style.

Company Profile

Founded in 1999, the mission of Professional Courtesy and Karen Hickman is to present programs of the finest quality with the highest degree of professionalism.

The purpose of the seminars and programs is to enable professionals, executives, and individuals to conduct business in diverse cultural arenas with ease.
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Contact Us

Professional Courtesy, LLC
Etiquette/Protocol Consultants
P.O. Box 15353
Fort Wayne IN 46885-5353

Telephone: 260-486-7758
Facsimile: 260-486-7758
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