#hand-shake

President Jonathan & General Buhari attended the 2015 Elections Sensitization Workshop on Non-Violence in Abuja this morning. “Their party leaders were also in attendance. They greeted each other with smiles on their faces and a hug plus a hand-shake. More photos below:

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Cranquis (entering room): Hi there, I'm Dr. Cranquis.

Teenaged patient (starts to offer his right hand for a handshake): Hi.

Cranquis (reaching out with his LEFT hand): Oh, why don't I shake your left hand instead?

Patient (flinching away): Uh... um, no, it hurts.

Cranquis: Your *LEFT* hand hurts?

Patient: Yeah.

Cranquis *flustered*: Oh man, we really got started on the wrong foot. Wrong hand. Whatever. Should I come in again?

Cranquis: Ma'am, I understand your concern, but you really don't have any symptoms of infectious pink-eye. I think it's your seasonal allergies causing the itchy eyes.

Patient *frustrated*: WELL FINE THEN.

Cranquis *offering hand to shake*: Do the treatments we've discussed, and you'll get better.

sangasong replied to your link: Opposing viewpoints on Doctors shaking hands with...

why not the fist-bump? you’re gangster anyway. sense of touch. brotha-brotha understanding. less germs perhaps too?

Yes, less germs than the handshake -- but the back of the hand/knuckles are often used as a backup nose-wiper. Eww.

kangofu-cb replied to your post: circumventions replied to your post: Bad and...

We did friendly elbow-bumps in my micro class when I was still doing pre-req’s for nursing school. Also, upward head nods (which everyone looks ridiculous doing)

The elbow-bump would also be less germy than a handshake -- but since we (doctors) are trying to teach children to cough into their elbows... Hmm.

circumventions replied to your post: Bad and Worse: Don't Give Me a Hand

why would a doctor ever shake a patient’s hand unless he knows him personally?

Depends on the culture of the area where you practice. Where I work and live, people are very friendly and hand-shaking during the doctor-patient introduction is common-place. I walk in, I say, "Hi, my name is Dr. Cranquis", I shake their hand, and then I immediately use hand sanitizer as we start to talk. I've done some doctor-shadowing in the Southern US, where pretty much any female patient older than 65 would insist on hugging the doctor at the end of a visit (nasty white-coat-germs and all).

That being said, with a patient whose Chief Complaint is "Rash" or "Fever" or "Personal" (or with ANY patient during flu season) I don't offer my hand. This patient snuck in under my radar by coming in with a CC of "Not sleeping well" -- he wasn't sleeping well BECAUSE HIS GROIN ITCHED. *shudder*