Embarassing OR experience.

[Thedreamer]

Hey guys. I love the ER and OR. They are where I want to work. I am also very studious, and have a background in biology and chemistry. Needless to say, I know what I am watching when I get to observe.

Today in the OR I got to watch a left lower lobectomy with exploratory laproscopy. I was following the doctor along with everything he was doing. My fellow student and I were even whispering in the back about rationals for certain things he was doing and just enjoying our time there. It was just such an amazing thing to watch. So of course when the assisting MD calls us over to explain into more depth, I was elated!

He starts walking us through everything, all medical lingo which is what I was wanting to hear. Its such a good feeling to KNOW what he is talking about when hes using all the medical terms ya know? Like all that studying is paying off. After about 20min of him talking to me on and off about this or that, he asks if I am a med student. I replied no, I am a nursing student, to which my partner behind me further supplied, an LPN student.

I am not ashamed to be an LPN student, in fact I am proud to be on my way to becoming a Nurse, then RN then BSN and eventually masters. I understand we take one step at a time and am very comfortable with my path.

As soon as the docter heard my partner say we were LPN students he looked me in the eye in front of the other MD, and both circulating nurses and said, "Well in that case, since youre only LPN students, I will dumb it down for you." At first I didnt think he was trying to be offensive. But then his vocabulary went from medical terminology to literally saying, "You see the red stuff and this lumpy thing?" and 10 minutes before he was asking if we could "Visualize the lower left lobe with a cmxcm mass" he was prodding. The circulating nurse even gave a little "giggle" after he said the comment.

I didnt want to over react so I kindly reminded him that I understood what he was describing and that he didnt need to "dumb things down" for myself or my partner. I took alot away from the experience so over all it was a positive one. But that one moment just made me feel about 3 inches tall!

[ohmeowzer RN, RN]

some doctors are soo stupid.. what a jerk.. i had a charge nurse that was the same type of jerk.. i just graduated from RN school now but i have been a LPN for 19 years .. the charge had to cosign a admit assesment i had to do she says this weekend " ooh look i am cosigning your charting because you are just a LPN " " you need me to do this for you" she said it so loud several times everyone ( inculding doctors ) just stared at me.. i walked by her and said " whooppee for you" and she hardly spoke to me the rest of the day.. she only spoke to me to give me snotty remarks because i am a LPN .. i was so pissed i just dissed her the whole shift.. some people have such gall .. i have worked with her several times and she always makes nasty remarks loudly about LPN's ... being a LPN is nothing to be ashamed of.. it is a honest job and a stressful one.. i had a dr say to me when i was in RN school he said " when do you become a RN? i told him .. tommrow is my last clinical day.. he said " good because dealing with LPN's is a headache " " Thank Heaven i will deal with you as a RN now.'. 'I think LPN's are not real nurses.".. i was so mad i had to walk away... don't ever be ashamed of who you are.. you will touch lives and make a difference as a LPN.. it's a shame LPN's don't get the credit they deserve

[Psqrd]

I was doing my OR rotation and was assigned to the circulation nurse. I am in the OR room, patient in the room when this "little" man walks in wearing scrubs looks around an then walks out. A few minutes later he walks back in and immediately goes over to be gowned up...looks at me and goes "who's this?" very snarky. The nurse goes oh this is a nursing student here to observe. The, (as I just learned doctor) looks at me and says "its generally considered good manners to introduce yourself to the surgeon, and ask if its ok to observe". I bit my tongue, I wanted to tell him that I thought he was the janitor when he first came in but I really wanted to see the procedure and not get kicked out of the OR. The best part was that every nurse turned to look at me and rolled their eyes! It was pretty funny since thats all you can see above the mask...its true the eyes are the most expressive of all the body languages! The circulating nurse came up to me later and kind of apologized, that it was her fault, she had forgotten what a jerk this one doc could be.

P2

[beth66335, BSN, RN]

Sounds like your reply had the effect of making him look bad instead of you,way to go. It is the "God" complex a lot of nurses of every level put up with from Dr.

[MistiroseRN]

I like the way you presented yourself! You never need to feel small when you are bettering your life through education. I am in nursing school now thanks to a great LPN. She was my supervisor and a great mentor. I am proud to call her my friend. We haven't worked together in 3 years but talk weekly. She has been a great support. I would love to see her become an RN but she has no desire to do so as she is much older.