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phone_etiquette

Etiquette

Reference from UW Radiology Residency policy

Dress Code

You are expected to dress professionally at all times. Lab coats are provided, and laundered, by the department so you are encouraged to wear them.

Addressing Attendings

In general, address attendings as they prefer. Begin by addressing them by last name and if they ask you to use their first name, then respect their preference. It may be intimidating at first, but some of them will ask you to do that when you first meet. Be respectful and go with the flow. Also, it almost goes without saying, but be helpful and pleasant to referring clinicians and kind to the ancillary staff.

Phone etiquette

Phone conversations are often the only direct contact that referring clinicians and patients have with a radiologist. As such, we are judged to a large degree by that interaction. Please be professional and courteous on the phone at all times. Callers are usually directed to a reading room by the operator, and unfortunately misdirected calls are somewhat common. As such, it is important to identify who you are and your location, so that the caller can identify if they have reached the correct person at the correct place.

The preferred way to answer the phone is, “[chest/MSK/body] radiology reading room, this is Dr. Xxx” This helps the caller to know that they have reached the appropriate radiologist and not a nurse, tech, secretary, etc. If a caller does not identify themselves, then it is entirely appropriate to ask them to do so to ensure that you are not inappropriately relaying HIPAA protected information. “

phone_etiquette.txt · Last modified: 2012/04/03 01:54 (external edit)