Opinion | Patient Names Are More Than Just Names

“Names are the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” This quote by Dale Carnegie demonstrates the deep importance a person’s name carries.

As a medical student working at a hospital in Chicago, I have seen a wide variety of patient names from diverse backgrounds. I am also a person who grew up being told that I had a “difficult” name. This is such a common experience that when someone says my name correctly the first time, I am left pleasantly shocked. I’ve seen this phenomenon among several of my patients too.

Recently, while working in the emergency department on one of my rotations, I had the opportunity to call a patient back to be triaged. His name was very clearly Nigerian in origin, just like my name. I called his full name — both first and last name — with the correct pronunciation. I called it multiple times until I found him. We were both wearing masks, but I could see a subtle happiness expressed through his eyes. He said, “You said my name correctly and you said it beautifully.”

I introduced myself as Niyi. He immediately realized I am also Nigerian and understood where my comfort in pronouncing his name came from. This interaction was brief but held such great significance — his shock emphasized how rare it is for someone to pronounce his name correctly. All our patients deserve to be acknowledged by their correct name. However, this is something many people take for granted if they have a name people don’t often mistake. All our lives depend on the oxygen in the air we breathe, but most of us do not think about how grateful we are for this air. It is not until our breath is taken away that we remember how important our need to breathe is. Many patients do not get the comfort of having their name said correctly, so when it happens, it becomes their breath of fresh air.

Names Are More Than Just Names

A name is so much more than just something to be called. A name is the first gift we are given by someone who loves us. To be called by your name is a basic sign of human respect. Behind a correct name pronunciation is effort and an acknowledgement of status. We are not born knowing how to speak, so naturally, we will not know how to say every name we encounter.

So, what can we do? We can learn. In medicine we are lifelong learners, so taking the time to learn to say a name correctly is a small ask. Taking the time to say a name correctly and build that connection with a patient also demonstrates that you respect them and want to make sure their experience is as excellent as it can be.

Intuitively, we all know saying a name the right way is a sign of respect. For example, medical students on a rotation will make sure they are saying the attending physician’s name correctly because they understand it would be disrespectful not to and could impact their grade. Similarly, an RN meeting with the chief nursing officer would make the effort to learn their name. All patients deserve this level of effort from us as healthcare providers. We are there to serve them.

Why Does Representation in Healthcare Matter?

Many of us have heard the story of Henrietta Lacks or the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, situations in which doctors and scientists blatantly disregarded the need for patient consent. These events and many others broke the trust of people of color in the healthcare system. How can we expect our patients to put their trust back in a system that has hurt them and in which they do not feel represented? According to the U.S. Census Bureau, approximately 13.4% of the U.S. population is Black, yet only 5% of active physicians identify as Black or African American. Representation in healthcare offers an opportunity for improved patient trust, patient experiences, and patient outcomes.

One of the greatest assets a physician can have is the ability to build rapport with patients — this is where “the art of medicine” comes into play. It’s about physician access to full information from patients. It’s about trust. For some patients, the comfort to fully share their story comes from seeing someone caring for them who looks like them, someone who understands their culture, or someone who takes the time to address them by their name. A patient who feels seen and respected will be more willing to assist us in providing them with the care they need. You cannot provide patient-centered care when you do not treat the patient’s experience as a priority.

To create a healthcare system that represents as many of our patients as possible is the bare minimum we can do. No name is “difficult,” it is simply a name that needs to be learned. As Confucius said, “The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.”

Niyi Soetan is a fourth-year medical student at Rush Medical College and regional director for region 2 of the Student National Medical Association (SNMA).

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