St George’s supports the ‘Hello My Name Is’ campaign
Dozens of St George’s, University of London students have showed their support for a national campaign called ‘Hello My Name Is’ which aims to improve communication with patients.
The ‘Hello My Name Is’ campaign was started by Dr Kate Granger, an Elderly Medicine Registrar and terminally ill cancer patient, in September 2013. While being treated for post-operative sepsis, Dr Granger noticed that not every healthcare professional who approached her introduced themselves before delivering care. As well as reinforcing the basic skill of an introduction, her campaign aims to reiterate the importance of the human connection made when healthcare professionals, including students, introduce themselves to their patients.
Dr Granger says: “I firmly believe it is not just about knowing someone’s name, but it runs much deeper. It is about making a human connection, beginning a therapeutic relationship and building trust. In my mind, it is the first rung on the ladder to providing compassionate care.”
Both St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and St George’s, University of London are proud to support this campaign, which was launched by our first year university students during their ‘Introduction to Clinical Communication’ lecture on 30th September. The students wrote their names on posters and pledged to start every encounter with a patient with “Hello, my name is…”.This image was then shared on our social media channels, and within three hours the tweet had made over 1000 impressions on Twitter.
Medical student James Shuttleworth, who helped raise awareness of the campaign said: “HelloMyNameIs is a campaign that not only has the potential to transform patients’ experiences of care, but can also be so easily embraced.
“A sincere introduction is the first step to a building a sincere, trusting relationship with everybody in our lives, that’s never more important than when we are feeling vulnerable, as many patients do.
“Students regularly interact with patients and will continue to do so throughout their careers. This ethos of this campaign reinforces the fundamental values of medicine and is a vital component in developing as a doctor.”
Read more about this national campaign here.
