It is appropriate that the fastest man on Earth is called Bolt. However, did the name he was born with influence his life choices? Also, is there evid

Nominative determinism in hospital medicine

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2022-01-13 21:30:12

It is appropriate that the fastest man on Earth is called Bolt. However, did the name he was born with influence his life choices? Also, is there evidence in the medical register that names have influenced the career choices of hospital doctors in selecting medicine as a career and in their choice of specialty?

This phenomenon was termed ‘nominative determinism’ by New Scientist, which ran a regular column dedicated to it from 1994 onwards. Among the first entries was a reference to an article on incontinence in the British Journal of Urology authored by Splatt and Weedon.1 There is already evidence that names influence the choice of a career in medicine,2,3 but does it also influence the choice of specialty thereafter?

The authors of this article are from a medical family who frequently hear their names quoted on radio phone-ins. Little does the radio audience know that all members of the family climb for a hobby, and two of the family have names more appropriate to this pastime than to medicine.

We wanted to ascertain if there is evidence that an individual’s name, as recorded in the medical register, has influenced his/her choice of specialty if they have followed a career in hospital medicine.