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Things Miss Manners Doesn't Teach You
Sep. 10th, 2009 05:58 pm( Wherein I ramble about manners )
What this is all leading up to, is that I committed a major faux pas today while trying to follow my 'manners' in a situation.
Three of us were having problems with our Hematology homework on bone marrow, and we went to my rotation supervisor, the Hematology Section Chief. She arranged it so that the on staff Histopathologist would review it with us. He did an awesome job, and the other two walked out after, without saying thank you, so I attempted to do so, and held out my hand to shake.
BIG mistake. He literally cringed back and muttered something like "swine flu". I had completely forgotten that I have a cold. (Though, I had just washed my hands.) There are signs everywhere about the flu, and swine flu and H1N1, and how you aren't supposed to come into work if you have flu-like systems, yadda. On the other hand, I couldn't take the day off just for a cold, and I am sneezy, coughy, etc. I have a cold.
I didn't know that when I had left the office briefly to go get a drink, he had wiped down everything behind me.
I apologized later, and told him that I had forgotten that I had a cold, and I had just wanted to thank him. He was quite gracious about it.
Still, there are no people more paranoid about germs and touching than health care workers, and apparently Pathologists are even more touchy than other people. (You sure hear some of the anecdotes that were told to me today after this...)
So, sometimes, "proper" manners, are a very 'improper' thing to follow :)
What this is all leading up to, is that I committed a major faux pas today while trying to follow my 'manners' in a situation.
Three of us were having problems with our Hematology homework on bone marrow, and we went to my rotation supervisor, the Hematology Section Chief. She arranged it so that the on staff Histopathologist would review it with us. He did an awesome job, and the other two walked out after, without saying thank you, so I attempted to do so, and held out my hand to shake.
BIG mistake. He literally cringed back and muttered something like "swine flu". I had completely forgotten that I have a cold. (Though, I had just washed my hands.) There are signs everywhere about the flu, and swine flu and H1N1, and how you aren't supposed to come into work if you have flu-like systems, yadda. On the other hand, I couldn't take the day off just for a cold, and I am sneezy, coughy, etc. I have a cold.
I didn't know that when I had left the office briefly to go get a drink, he had wiped down everything behind me.
I apologized later, and told him that I had forgotten that I had a cold, and I had just wanted to thank him. He was quite gracious about it.
Still, there are no people more paranoid about germs and touching than health care workers, and apparently Pathologists are even more touchy than other people. (You sure hear some of the anecdotes that were told to me today after this...)
So, sometimes, "proper" manners, are a very 'improper' thing to follow :)
