Australian doctors and nurses are wearing their names on their heads. And it's genius.

Imagine the shock of seeing your surgeon preparing to cut you open while his name and position are written across his forehead.

Does this guy not know his own name?

But a move spearheaded by Sydney anaesthetist Dr Rob Hackett has seen surgical teams across the nation – and the world – do just that.

All of them are showing up to theatre with their surgical masks below surgical caps emblazoned with names and titles like: “Rob … Anaesthetist”.

“You look a little daft because not everyone is doing it,” Dr Hackett told The Sydney Morning Herald. He’s also likely been the subject of several jibes from coworkers and patients alike.

Hackett says it will also save lives:

“Medical error reported as the third greatest cause of death,” Hackett tweeted last December. “We shouldn’t expect this to change if we’re not prepared to change ourselves.”

Surgeons, anaesthetists, nurses and midwives are all jumping on board. There’s even a hashtag #TheatreCapChallenge.

And, as for the rest of us, at least we know there’s no cause for alarm when we see a surgeon who looks like they’ve forgotten their name. It’s really for our safety – or so they say.