My new favorite doctor! Read this :)

[AlphaPig]

Yesterday was a busy day and I had two patients who took a lot of my time and I needed a lot of orders for both of them. A young doctor I didn't know well was covering for one of the docs, and after he listened to me describe each problem, ask for orders, and then put in the orders, he walked away down the hall and I called out "thank you!" because he had been very helpful to me. He turned around in the middle of the hall and called back (in front of a lot of other nurses) "No, thank YOU because I know that you nurses are the ones WHO DO ALL OF THE WORK. I come in for 5 minutes a day, but you are here all day. So thank YOU!"

We all applauded.

He's my new favorite doctor :)

[rosiegoose]

You should know that it's hard in any profession to find a team that you work with "like clockwork". Any time I stumble across one, I am grateful and acknowledge it.

It sounds like you are feeling patronized by the doctor or are you a doctor and don't hear this about your practice? Why don't you see it as being appreciated by a co-worker? Where I work, our providers know and brag about being appreciated by the nurses, too, BTW.

The doctors that we are talking about are the ones who value TEAMWORK over power games. That's why they are awesome doctors. They are few and far between which is why they are especially appreciated by the nurses.

Actually quite the opposite, not sure how you got that from my post. Not sure where you work or how the dynamics play a role but that really wasn't what I was going for. Not sure how you equated it to me feeling not appreciated but considering that I have worked with the doctors on two different teams, the second team which they wrote LORs for me and will become a third team which will place me as an equal if everything goes right in March.

Now, in a teamwork doesn't mean praising other team members, it means doing your part in a fair manner. It means picking up the slack when other don't and it means helping other when an issue arises. Never have I been taught that team work equals praise. Sure it nice every once in a while, but its not required. Nor do I judge a doctor or any other team members based on how much praise they give me.

[rosiegoose]

I met an older doctor when I was a student in ICU who was AWESOME and I wish they were all like him. There was a lady who needed an emergency procedure done at the bedside so I was trying to stay out of the way, but also wanted to watch. There were plenty of nurses around, but he intentionally asked me to help him and I could tell he thoroughly enjoyed teaching me and the fact that I wanted to learn.

When he was finished, there were a lot of sharps and bloody objects on the table and I offered to dispose of them. He said, "NO! Don't you touch that. I'm the one who made that mess and there's no sense in 2 people taking a chance of being stuck, and if a doctor ever tells you to do that then you tell him NO!"

I really wouldn't have cared to do it because there was only so much I COULD do as a student, but I was surprised at his reaction. What's funny is I remember hearing my grandmother (who is dead now) say that doctor's name a lot. It was ironic.

This post is what I was trying to get at in my original post. This is the sort of interaction that I use to determine whether I think a doctor is awesome or not.

Not just the words that every medical student learns in third year is the way to play nice with the nurses.

I care more about actions than words.

[JBudd, MSN]

I have told some of my docs directly "Have I told you how much I appreciate it when you ______". It is teamwork, but everyone should get some positive feedback now and again. We certainly get the negative often enough.

No this isn't the Little League trophy, it is the social oils that keep the team machine running well.

BTW, my kids figured out the whole trophy bit, and when they got older kept only the ones they "won".

[turnforthenurse, MSN, NP]

That's amazing. We need more doctors like him.

[FranEMTnurse, CNA, LPN, EMT-I]

Awesome doc who does appreciate nurses. Hooray for him.

[SaoirseRN]

I work with a lot of very good doctors (and some of the other, more stereotypical kind, but this comment is not for them). I always appreciate when they thank me for something, and I also like to make a point of taking time to thank them when they've done something I appreciate. I think this fosters better working relationships between doctors and nurses and that can only be a good thing!

[Ashera, LPN]

Great post! And made me smile to be reminded there are, indeed, nice Drs out there. I know there are - but sometimes it takes just one bad one to take front center in your mind - Like the Dr I had to work with for a year, who would....accidentally...brush his arm across my ... chest....mind you, accidentally of course.....and then make a flippant comment like...."Trying to keep abreast of things..."

I was a new nurse - but...not a new female - but feeling powerless at that moment. Jerk...

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

People frequently come to ER for constipation. Some end up with perforated bowels. It ain't funny or pretty.

Back to topic: we have several docs who are jewels. We are not a training hospital but I have no trouble getting docs to teach the nurses about new procedures and expectations. 15 min inservices can make a HUGE difference in patient care.

[CountyRat]

Back in the day, when I worked in a large county hospital, the doctor in charge of the Medical ICU was legendary for his insistence that interns (that's what we called first-years then) and residents treat the nurses with professional respect. He had this speech that he gave to all of the new `terns on their first day. It was the same speech every year. The part I remember most went as follows: "The nurses in my ICU are valuable professionals, and each of you WILL treat them as such at all times. Remember, interns are a dime a dozen, and I can replace any one of you easily. Good nurses, on the other hand, are uniquely essential to the care of our patients. Do not EVER let me hear that you treated one of them with anything but respect!"

And, he meant it. And the interns obeyed him because they had been told by the seniors that he meant it. Needless to say, any of the nurses in the Medical service would walk barefoot over burning coals for this doc, and say "thank you" for the privilege. And, his patients always received superb nursing care. Physicians are smart people. Why do so few of them get this?

[brick195969]

young docs , god bless, they come in so sweet, kind and caring, eventually they (almost) all turn into tyrannical dinosaurs

[brick195969]

@rosiegoose,

the post was about doctors with manners and respect for nurses, not what nurses do or don't do. You obviously don't work the floor any more, proably an administrator or you work 1 on 1 with a specialty doctor. Nurses deserve any credit they get, long hours, underpaid and often underappreciated. For all hard working clinical setting nurses, back off

[brick195969]

a beautiful redhead goes to the doctor.

"doctor it hurts wherever i touch myself.

the doctors says "what? Show Me"

She touches her arm with her finger "oooooooo" she says painfully

the doctor says "hmm, show me something else"

she touches her shoulder "oooooooo" again

"ok" says the doctor "keep showing me"

she touches her arm "oooooo",

she touches her knee "oooooo"

she touches her side "ooooooo"

finally she touches her head "ooooooo" again sounding like she is in excruciating pain

"ok" the doctor says, let me ask you a question "are you a natural redhead?"

"no" she says "i'm a blonde"

the doctor says "you have a broken finger"