What MD speciality do you find the most difficult to work with?

[nurturing_angel]

Reading through the posts this morning I read something about cardiologists being hard to work with. For most of my nursing career I have worked with obstetricians and gynecologists and find the majority of them easy to work with. The specialist group I loath working with are orthopedic surgeons. In the few years I worked on a general med surg unit and had to deal with these guys I found them very hard to work with. The two worst of the worst would stand in the hall and bellow at nurses and one of them would stand right outside of pts rooms and very loudly scream at nurses about how "undesirable" the pt was and how he would never "get paid a dime for taking care of such trash." Also, he would scream and swear at me each time I called him and once he let the phone ring over 50 times....I can be persistent when I need to...before he answered the phone with "what the hell do you want now!"

Am I being skewed on my perception of ortho docs because of my bad experiences with them?

Who are your favorite and least favorite types of docs to work with? Just curious!

:balloons:

[lpnstudentin2010, LPN]

I know, from both hearing and seeing, that my pediatric plastic surgeon is a jerk to the nurses.

[Blee O'Myacin, BSN, RN]

I was just wondering if we don't contribute to these reputations. If we expect the surgeon to be a pompous ass, then our body language and other means of non-verbal communication will demonstrate as such, even if we are speaking with the *utmost* politeness...

And substitute "nurse" for "surgeon" and there we have one of those discussions on the student doc forums that make us so upset.

I've found that the resentment is two sided - and for no really good reason.

Blee

[GadgetRN71, ASN, RN]

Blee is right, it goes both ways. I think some of the frustration for the surgeons comes from the fact that often in a hospital setting, you have so many different people involved in pt. care. Just like docs, not all nurses are pleasant to work with. Some call for important matters, some call or page for things that could easily wait..I know, because I have to answer their pagers in the OR. Then, some just don't understand why the surgeon can't drop everything and attend to the issue right then-I've had a few get rude with me because I wouldn't put Doctor X on the phone(despite the fact that he/she is scrubbed and I offered to relay a message).

But, there are some rude ones no matter where you are...I also think it's more a matter of individual personalities. I work exclusively with the Orthopedic surgeons and most of them are nice. There are one or two who are jerks. I never liked OB-GYNs but I think I'm biased because I despise GYN stuff. :barf01:.General surgeons tend to be OK but always there are a few who are nasty. Cardiac/vascular are mostly high strung and Neuro docs tend to think they poop ice cream-although I used to scrub a lot with one of them and he was nice.

I have also found that in many cases, the doc really isn't aware how he/she is coming across. I think this is because they spend so much time in med school, residency etc that their social skills are sorely lacking. Also, some were raised from an early age to think they are all that and a bag of chips. I have found that the "self-made" physicians that had to scrap and fight for everything they've accomplished tend to be the best to work with.

[nurturing_angel]

This is what I fear...am I painting all orthopedic docs with the same brush when really it is just a matter of me being unlucky enough to meet up with 2 of the most abrasive ones? I want to be fair in my assessment. Unfortunately I have always worked in smaller hospitals and have not met or worked with a large number of any specialities except OB's.

I would not like docs to feel like all OB/Gyn nurses were stupid or rude because of their experience with 2. Maybe it is just my misconconception. Lots to think about now.

Thanks! :)

:balloons:

[nici1978]

i would say the most difficult md's are you general surgeons

they seem to be very hot tempered

but that is just my opinion

nici

[SteveNNP, MSN, NP]

The only physician group that has come across as condescending (not pompous) to me have been the neurosurgery team. Other than that, peds surgery, cardiology and the neonatologists have been excellent for the most part.

[sharona97, BSN, RN]

Love, love, love cardio and thoracic surgeons.

Worst experience and I mean an experience was with a Plastic surgeon......" only do art", OMG, shut up and chart and could you treat this patient's infection.....uggggh.

Internal meds docs I have found to be great teachers and had a sense of humor.

Never ever worker OB-GYN and never will. Just me, not them.

[MzMouse]

I work in a clinic as primary nurse for a general surgeon. He and his partners are extremely nice and good to work with. I do know, however, the nurses at the hospital see a side we usually don't.

I have found the cardiologists to be a bit high maintenance. In general I agree good and bad is spread evenly through the specialties.

[Spidey's mom, ADN, BSN, RN]

i was just wondering if we don't contribute to these reputations. if we expect the surgeon to be a pompous ass, then our body language and other means of non-verbal communication will demonstrate as such, even if we are speaking with the *utmost* politeness...

and substitute "nurse" for "surgeon" and there we have one of those discussions on the student doc forums that make us so upset.

i've found that the resentment is two sided - and for no really good reason.

blee

i agree with this.

our ortho doc is very kind tom.

steph

[Toquay]

Do you all think that surgeons may come across this way due to their facing higher risks of law suits, post op infections, and often times heavy workloads. Any surgery is a risk as we all know and no matter how well you educate people they all expect perfect outcomes regardless of their underlying health issues. Surgery can also be very tedious and physical at times. I have sat in on a couple ortho surgeries (total knees) and just from what I could see they require alot of hard physical work implanting and anchoring the prosthesis, it seemed almost a barbaric procedure. I know many carry heavy surgery loads and often have schedules changed due to emergencies etc. Years ago I did infection control for a year and would often see the surgeons watch to see what charts I would pull to review. I always felt like they viewed me as the enemy when I did that job. I am not making excuses for any Doc to mistreat other members of the healthcare team but I can see how some specialities might feel frustrated and defensive. Yes, surgeons do make the "big bucks" but that comes at a cost. They can't clock out at the end of the day and just be done. They miss out on alot of quality time with their families which probably plays into their frustration as well. The Docs that treat us well probably realize that we are all on the same team.

Toq

[siggie13]

i am a firm believer that you are treated the way you expect to be treated. i have worked with many doctors that other nurses had problems with and i can honestly say that i did not. all of my experience has left me with a "i will treat you with respect and i will receive the same from you" attitude. nurses need to own how important their positions are and how sometimes, their demeanor invites misuse from others. i tolerated no abuse from anyone and was my biggest supporter.

i hear many nurses complaining about how they are being treated by others and yet, i do not see them doing anything about it. stand up for yourself and express your dislike of certain treatment. taking your power back over your situation is very liberating and contagious.

if i could pass on any bit of info to young nurses it would be : this is your life to do with as you see fit; either mold it to your needs or move on and try another life style. never allow someone to treat you in any way that makes you feel uncomfortable or unappreciated. you are not helpless, you can do something. you always have a choice.

[Music in My Heart]

I've known several orthopedists as a patient and have found most of them to come off as pretty arrogant. One of them was a great guy. I've always suspected that the guys who were blessed with the intellect and athletic talent were the most likely to end up as orthopods. Many excellent athletes manifest the arrogance that I've seen in the orthopods.

I've heard of the neurosurgeon attitude but again, my only experience is as a patient. The pediatric neurosurgeon who worked on my daughter is a really nice guy and does not come off even a little bit arrogant. The nurses throughout the hospital have spoken quite highly of him. Interestingly, we have run into the "neurosurgeon attitude" from several of his support folks, but not him. Go figure.