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Do you shake hands with a doctor?
Today during lunch we had a most interesting conversation.
The question: if you go to see a doctor and walk in to his office, do you shake his hand?
On our table, today, the French girl, the German boy and I agreed that we did, at least in our home country do so, while the English guy maintained that he wouldn't. A doctor, he argued, provided a service and hence, just as you don't shake hands with a butcher or a ground stewardess you don't do so with a gp. So unless he's the family surgeon whom you've known for years and years you wouldn't shake hands with your doctor.
What do you guys think? I think we might have touched upon a very interesting cultural difference here.
Comments
+ why would doctors want to catch germs off patients? I would imagine medics only touch people if necessary.
Now, please cough ...
I shake hands with my western Doc - typically get a hug from my accupuncturist and when i shake hands with my Chiro he typically adjusts my wrist.
asked an italian guy and he agreed that in italy you certainly would
the chest. P.S. Blokes don't see doctors over here!
Gynecologists...... Never!
Spin
Seriously, if you shake hands with anybody, why not your own doctor. As long as you can see a wash basin and antiseptic near.
You need to sense whether he's shaky, flaky, overly aggressive, limp-wristed of happy?
I wouldn't waste too long though since I'm paying.
He should let go after three or four pumps.
When we shake hands and look at each other, I know he's concentrating on me.
When I lived in Holland I have had the same doctor all my life.
When I was a little kid and I was very ill he would come to our house (they do that in Holland).
So he's very well known. When you visit his office (=private office near their house)he stands up and stretches his hand. Of course I shake it.
I mean, if he stretches his hand you won't say "no, i won't shake hands".
In Spain kids get a pediatrist (sp?) and when you get adult you get a normal doctor. They DON'T do home visits.
You have to go to a public health center where all the doctors are together.
When it's your turn you enter, but the doctor doesn't get up and streches hand.
THAT's why I also don't strech hand to shake it.
Simple as that !
Interesting point, though. Pissed and Broke has a point, avoidance of quacks is the Aussie way. Let's face it, 90% of the time you are crook from a virus, and there's nothing they can do except take your money and uselessly prescribe anitbiotics. Great for the drug companies, no use to you, and potentially catastrophic for future generations.
Spent a lot of time with the family doctor in Canberra when wheeling my two mildly asthmatic children in there every month, or so. Whilst we had a nice relaxed raport, I was never once tempted to shake his hand. Just never occurred to me, and he never offered. If I was a doctor, I reckon I would avoid physixcal contact in that environment as well.
So I am going thriu all of the medical testing stations and I come around a corner and there are two lines. I ask one of the other troops what each line was for - he said the "finger wave". I asked why one line had only a few people and the other line was all the way down the hall.
The answer was that the doc giving the wave in the long line was a HOT female Captain.
The other ..... you can finger it out.
England: Just a “How do you do”
France: Hug and kiss both cheeks, the nurse too!
Middle East Hug (check for wires) and kiss both cheeks
North Pole Rub noses
Australia Just “G’Day mate”, there’s usually no safe place to put down your beer
Italy What and stop talking?
Brazil Full embrace, Nurse too!
we heal by ourselves over time!:hehe:
Nice place to visit and all that ...
50 euro to tell me I had the Flu and a handshake! Thats Business
So yesterday, Mrs Lease prods me with the barrel of her gun and off we go to young doctor unpronouncable. Yadda, yadda, yadda, go get xrays and come back tommorrow. Came back tommorrow, confirm pneumonia (lower right lobe if you please), and now I know I truly have reached middle age.
Very Ironic that the discussion comes up just as a genuine, interventionable illness comes along. Even more ironic that it co-incides with yet another assault on general nicotine. Gave up again Sunday a week ago and this is my reward.
I did take the opportunity to observe closely for any signs that indicated a desire to shake hands but can only report that the gentleman showed remarkable dexterity in staying as far away from his sweating, heaving patient, as the physical barriers represented by the walls would allow. Must be an Indian thing.
..and by happy circumstance you are in it. I have bequeathed that everything I own be liquidated and the funds put toward a foundation whose goal will be the erradication from the planet of all things English. It'll be called the 'Proper Solution' and from all accounts will be wildly popular across the planet (Except India & Pakistan). Reports of long term linguistic problems among North Americans may have to be monitored.
Now THOSE are Adams references. The rest is my own crap.
in most popular private clinics one has to wait for an average half to 2 hours for your turn, so sometimes one goes to a less popular clinic to get some prescriptions for your kids' common cold or whatever.
so we don't usually shake hands with our docs...besides most of these clinics use "locum" (part time docs employed from government hospitals) to fill in the odd graveyard hours to stay open 24 hours...therefore, one usually never knows which doctor one might be seeing.
in serious cases, if you have the money you go into a priate hospital to see your physician/surgeon/specialist who might be your friend but then you are already half dead to be able to raise a smile let alone raise your right hand to grasp the idiot's hand.
;););)
I see it as a mutual sign of respect. It is a token gesture from the doctor to imply that he is truly interested in doing everything he can to improve the patient's condition. Likewise, it's a way for the patient to show that he has faith in the skills of the doctor.
Given these aspects, I think shaking hands at the beginning of the meeting creates a better atmosphere rather than just directly proceeding to the matter at hand.
However, when you look at the subject purely from a rational point of view, the habit of shaking hands with your doctor is of course insane. The doctor, by definition, meets sick people all day long. Shaking hands with every one of them is a great way to spread diseases.
It's similar to every customer of a restaurant shaking hands with the chef upon arriving. A nice gesture, but when you're puking your guts out after eating, you might reconsider whether it was such a good idea after all..