It’s my first day at a new facility — and I’m prepped with food, snacks and a closed-lid container for my morning coffee and to refill it in the afternoon with water. You never really know how stringent the policies will be for water containers at your new workstation or whether food or snacks are allowed. You might even be lucky enough to get a surprise Joint Commission inspection, or an infectious disease specialist could stop by at any time and berate all of the nurses and doctors for not following protocols. After all, our water bottles are teeming with infectious potentials — they are the most hazardous items in the emergency room. What I am also prepared for are the questions I will be asked about my name.
I walk in and introduce myself.
“Good morning, I’m Dr. Pérez-Johnson. I’m the new attending today, where shall I put my stuff, and where is the most convenient location for me to sign into a computer workstation?”
Usually, within five short minutes, I’m asked if I can see a patient and also how I’d like to be addressed.
“Is it: Dr. Johnson, Dr. Pérez. Dr. Johnson-Pérez, Dr. Pérez-Johnson, or, by God, is there a shorter version … Dr. PJ, Dr. J or Dr. P?”
Then later in the shift when there is a lull in patient volume, I get asked why my name is hyphenated — mostly by the nursing staff and occasionally by female residents who are not yet married or who are soon to be married. My answer begins as such: “Way back in the day when women physicians were still outnumbered by men, I had to determine how I wanted my medical name to stand.”
I was what was called a non-traditional student. I was married with kids, was a bit older and had a gap in my education — college had been several years ago, and I was now applying to medical school. Thus, my undergraduate transcripts were in my maiden name, and now when applying to medical school, my legal name was my husbands. How could I marry the two persons and still get credit for who I was and who I am currently and how would I like to be addressed both legally and professionally?
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