JERK DOCTOR!

[rn4babies63]

I worked night shift the other night (which I do infrequently) and our 8AM induction came in at 3AM with labor complaints. After assessing her, it was determined that she was not in labor and my charge nurse said "When you call the doctor, tell him that we are not going to start her induction before 8AM because the unit is too busy" So, I called him at 4:30AM and he yelled at me for waking him just to tell him that the patient had arrived with labor complaints but wasn't contracting or anything. He hung up on me and called the charge nurse. She told him that she had instructed me to start the induction early and not wait until 8AM. My coworker was in the room with me and agreed that we were told to hold the induction off. Anyway, since then (this was almost a week ago), the doctor has been going around to every nurse he can find on the unit and talking about me, taking a poll as to whether or not they would have called him in middle of the night. Most of the night shift nurses told him no some others said yes. It is our policy that the doctor be notified if a patient arrives. When he approached me, I asked him what his reaction would have been if something happened and he didn't even know that the patient was there. He simply said"Nothing was going to happen, she wasn't in labor". I am furious! He's like a little child going around to the staff trying to make me look stupid! The charge nurse went to my unit director the night he yelled at me and she told her that I was right in calling him but he just won't leave it be 5 days later! I already told him I'm not steady night shift and I was following policy but he just won't forget about it! What should I do?

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

you're right. this is just childish behavior. what you should do is write a letter that formally details his actions and address it to the physician who is the chief of ob services. give it to the people in the medical staff service office. that way his physician peer who supervises him will be notified of his behavior. the chief of ob (or it may be another chief) is the only person that has any authority over this doctor. doctors are not subject to the same disciplinary rules and authority of the hospital administration as we are. the doctors police themselves (this is by law) so you must go to and report this man to his supervising physician (chief). because the people you are notifying about his behavior have no authority to do anything about it, your complaints are falling on deaf ears although it does make for good gossip among the nursing staff.

[rn4babies63]

you're right. this is just childish behavior. what you should do is write a letter that formally details his actions and address it to the physician who is the chief of ob services. give it to the people in the medical staff service office. that way his physician peer who supervises him will be notified of his behavior. the chief of ob (or it may be another chief) is the only person that has any authority over this doctor. doctors are not subject to the same disciplinary rules and authority of the hospital administration as we are. the doctors police themselves (this is by law) so you must go to and report this man to his supervising physician (chief). because the people you are notifying about his behavior have no authority to do anything about it, your complaints are falling on deaf ears although it does make for good gossip among the nursing staff.

unfortunately, he is the chief of ob. i spoke with my director this morning about it and she told me that he approached her as well. she said she point blank told him that i was correct in calling him as it was an admission and that if something would have gone wrong and he hadn't been called, he'd been upset by that as well. she wasn't aware at the time, however that he was going to all the other nurses about it. she said she plans on addressing that with him as well (i'll believe that when i see it).

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

but the chief of ob has someone over him who is the chief of the entire medical staff. your director can talk to him all she wants, but she does not have the impact that his own supervisor, the chief of staff, will have. there is just more respect when the problem gets addressed doctor-to-doctor. the people in the medical staff services office can tell you how to go about making the complaint to him.