When asked in a Medscape Medical News poll whether they hugged their patients, physicians, nurses, and medical students were selective to different degrees. Nurses and advanced practice nurses (APRNs) who responded to the poll, posted January 24, were more likely to frequently hug their patients than physicians were (19% vs 13%, respectively). Only 5% of medical students said they frequently hug their patients. Medical students were much more likely to bypass the situation, with 41% answering that they never hug patients. About half that number of physicians (21%) and only 6% of nurses drew the line at "never." For most in all categories, the predominant answer was "sometimes." Sex and age helped predict frequency of hugs among physicians, according to the poll. More female physicians than male said they frequently hugged patients (15% vs 11%) and sometimes hugged them (72% vs 61%). Under-35-year-old physicians and those 35 and older had the same percentage for sometimes hugging patients (66%), but the differences came in the extremes. Only 5% of physicians younger than 35 frequently hugged patients compared with 15% of those older than 35, and 29% of the younger physicians said they never hug patients compared with 19% of the over-35 physicians. A total of 3072 readers responded to the poll: 1579 nurses/APRNs, 1432 physicians, and 61 medical students. Longtime Patients Most Likely to Get Hugs The patients most likely to get hugs from clinicians were longtime patients. Thirty-seven percent of nurses said longtime patients were the patients they would most likely hug, and 34% of physicians agreed. Next were older patients and patients receiving bad news. In these two categories, generally 16% to 18% of respondents said they were groups most likely to get hugs. Medical students were an exception, as only 3% agreed that they were most likely to hug those getting bad news According to the poll numbers, children were among the least likely to get hugs from their care provider. Only 8% of nurses, 6% of physicians, and 5% of students said that group was most likely to get hugs. A home health nurse commented that no demographics matter when it comes to hugs: Everybody needs them. She wrote: "I have discovered many times, the only time patients are touched is when someone is doing something to them. That is not therapeutic, nurturing touch that we all need. So, I tell all of my patients at the end of my visit that I have a rule, and that rule is I need to give them a hug. They absolutely light up!" Few Negative Reactions to Hugs Like the home health nurse, others who like to hug may take comfort in the low numbers of clinicians who have experienced negative reactions to hugs. Only 4% of nurses, 3% of physicians, and 2% of medical students said they have experienced negative reactions. Some providers pointed out in the comments section that hugging patients may depend on how clinicians feel about hugging people in general. One family medicine physician answered that she hugs only her spouse, kids, and grandkids. "I did not grow up with the 'hello/goodbye' hug, and not really comfortable with people who do that to me," she wrote. Some commenters wrote that they let patients initiate the hug. Others offered more direct caution. A psychologist wrote, "It isn't really safe, from a legal standpoint, to hug patients." A nurse cautioned, "You have to be very careful that this is not looked at with sexual overtones." Art Caplan, PhD, a medical ethicist at New York University School of Medicine and a Medscape columnist, writes that in light of the #MeToo movement, healthcare providers may be understandably nervous about touching a patient. But he says a hands-off, no-compliments attitude goes too far. He writes, "People will understand what is going on when you are doing something in front of others in a hospital setting. I am not saying that we should be dishing out hugs in the office with the door closed. That is clearly not appropriate. When you are in situations in which you are trying to use contact and physical interaction as a way to show concern and empathy, that should be preserved." Hugs Can Have Lasting Meaning Some commented that hugs can have immense and lasting meaning. A nurse who works with HIV-infected patients wrote that "one guy I hugged started crying because no one had touched him in 6 years." Another wrote, "When my father passed away his physician hugged my Mum and 5 years later she still talks about this." When asked whether specialty might make a difference in whether hugs would be acceptable, 46% of nurses said yes, and 48% of physicians and 62% of medical students agreed. For those hesitant to hug, there may be a good alternative. One commenter from psychiatry/mental health wrote: "A warm and respectful hand over the shoulder is really good. It is really appreciated by older people." Source
