Physician Opts for โคFirst-Name Introduction, Challenging Customary Medical Protocol
Oakland,โค CA – In a move reflecting a growing conversation around identity and patient interaction, Dr. Jennifer Tsai, an emergency โคmedicine physician in Oakland, California, has chosenโ to introduce herself to patients as “Jenny,” rather โthan “Dr. Tsai.” The decision, detailed in a recentโข personal essay, stems from a complex negotiation between honoringโ her family’s sacrifices, navigating โperceptions of professional authority, and asserting โher own sense of self within the medical field.
Dr. Tsai recounts experiences where her authority as a physician was questioned, despite her extensive training – a “squillion dollars” invested in medical education, as โshe puts it, and โyears of “blood, sweat, tears, and telomeres.” She acknowledgesโค a pervasive pressure to conform to โtraditional expectations of how a doctor should look and behave, recalling a medical school orientation where a rotation director shared a personal story of having her skills dismissed due to her appearance.
While recognizing the impact ofโค perception, โdr. Tsai actively rejects the idea that she needs to alter herself to gain respect. She points to the burgeoning “I look like a doctor” movement online, celebrating the diversity of medical professionals, and admits to the exhaustion of constantly trying to meet external expectations.
“It’s exhausting.At some point, I cannot keep bending or bowing to these extra expectations at this cost,” she writes. Ultimately, she arrived at โa place of self-acceptance: “Whether or not I look like a doctor, I am one.”
However, the decision to introduce herself as Jenny is also deeply personal. Dr. Tsai’s fatherโ worked tirelessly to provide her with โthe opportunities to achieve her โขdream of becoming Dr.Tsai, โand she โinitially worried about diminishing his legacy by not emphasizing herโ formal title.She notes her mother’s anxieties aboutโ a potential spouse’s reaction to her not usingโ her full name,and acknowledges not knowing her father’s thoughts on โขthe matter.
Despite these concerns, Dr. Tsai has chosen to prioritize herโข own sense of identity. She describes a feeling of “voluntary undoing” when โshe observes her name being simplified or mispronounced, viewing โit as a โข”splintered inheritance.”
“Maybe honoring my family doesn’t require โme to perseverate on pronunciation orโฃ professionalism,” she reflects. “Maybe the real betrayal isโข forcing myself โto fit.”
Dr. Tsai’s choice is framed as an exerciseโข in self-determination, a reclaiming of agency. She hopes her experience will empower others to define themselves on theirโข own terms.
“I am telling โขwhoever may be reading, just as I โคam learning to tell myself: You get to choose,” she concludes. “My father gave me this name. His legacy is the power toโ define it.”
Despite opting for a more informal โขintroduction, Dr. Tsai emphasizes her commitment to her patients:โฃ “I am excited to be your doctorโฃ today.”
