A want to share a gripe. I don't know how common this gripe is, but it genuinely annoys me.

I get very annoyed when a health care professional calls me by my first name while expecting me to call him or her as Dr. Last Name.

It usually starts with the introduction. May of us have had doctors introduce themselves by saying, "Hello, first name, I'm Dr. Last name.", as in "Hello Jane. I'm Dr. Doe."

I find it especially offensive when the doctor is clearly younger than I am.

What would it take to call the patient Mr. or Ms. Last Name? I've had doctors call me by my last name, and it seems a lot more dignified all around. The doctor maintains the role of the professional, and maybe the special status of having Doctor before his or her name, but at least the patient, or client (if the patient is a pet and the doctor is a veterinarian), is not treated like a child or social inferior.

It is very difficult to address this face to face with an individual doctor. There is the risk of putting the doctor on the defensive and creating antagonism in a needed relationship. Furthermore, the doctor may be kind and well-intentioned, and genuinely unaware that he or she is offending a patient with such a patronising attitude.

Also, some patients may prefer being infantalized like this, as it may make them feel secure with a kind of parent figure.

I wonder how much this verbal infantilization of a patient or client carries into the quality of patient care. I wonder what the implications are of such a statement of status difference, and possibly power differential.

Never mind that being patronizing is simply rude.

I also wonder how many people are even conscious of this, and how many just accept it as the norm, without reacting.

After all, doctors work very hard. They live with heavy responsibilities and many painful pressures. Arguably, they deserve recognition for this and a special status.

Unfortunately, though, doctors, or at least medical doctors, also seem to have a subculture that indoctrinates a sense of insularity and superiority to others.

Whatever the reason for such behavior, I know that I intensely dislike feeling patronized, infantalized or disrespected.

And I don't always have the option of taking my business elsewhere.

Do other people feel this way?