Cross-cultural aspect

Poland

• It is not elegant in Poland to be late, but if a patient or therapist is late it is good to apologise and explain;
• If the patient enters the office, it is appropriate for the physiotherapist to stand up and not to sit while greeting. In Poland, the usual greeting is Good morning, less formal greetings such as Hi would not be very polite. The therapist may, but does not necessarily have to shake hands to greet the patient (the rules of greeting by shaking hands in Poland are not easy, in short: the first person to extend their hand to greet is a woman or an older or more important person). However it is not appropriate for the therapist to sit down before pointing out a chair to the patient and before the patient sits down;
• If the patient has to change for the examination, he or she should be given a comfortable place to do so, so that he or she can maintain intimacy. It is usually not a problem for the patient to change into sports clothes or underwear for the examination if this is reasonable;
• The physiotherapist should address the patient using Mr/Mrs and the full name (e.g. Ms. Kathrine, instead of Ms. Katy), unless the patient requests otherwise. The physiotherapist should not address the patient as “you”;
• The therapist should warn the patient about the course of the visit, what tests/examinations will be carried out, and for what purpose. Especially if the therapist has to touch the patient for the purpose of examination, he/she should warn about this and the patient must give his consent.