It's all in the presentation

[CapeCodMermaid]

We have a patient who was vomiting what looked like fecal matter. My ADON asked me to review the chart to see if they'd missed something. (We are a spectacularly great team!) I reviewed the chart and saw that he had a history of colon cancer with a resection and chemo, a possible small bowel obstruction at the hospital, and many other co-morbidities. I hunted down his doctor in the building and told him we needed to get a KUB. He agreed and we booked the test.

When I told the team nurse, she said "I told him that yesterday and he did nothing." So, I've been doing this for the better part of 32 years (yikes!). I told her it's all in the presentation. Some of these docs need to be jolted into action. I ran up to him while he was sitting at the computer and gesticulated wildly while describing the resident's symptoms and telling him we NEEDED a KUB. I told the nurse, who is wonderful but still relatively new, that she had to learn to ACT like some things were more of a problem than they actually are to get what we need for our residents. I guess all those theater classes in college paid off!

[AdamantiteEnigma]

This story put a huge smile on my face - thank you for that!

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

The doctors DO trust me. That's why they listen to me.

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

The doctors DO trust me. That's why they listen to me.

That's good!

I think every situation is personal. I know our docs do not like any kind of drama (we have male and female docs). So I'm coming from my own perspective.

A trusting work relationship is vital to our patients. So, good job!

[amygarside]

hahaha. I agree. They are more likely to say yes if they have a clearer picture of what we are saying. I guess we really have to tel all the details so that they can perfectly draw the same image of what we are trying to portray.

[imintrouble, BSN, RN]

I disagree. You should not have to put on an Oscar winning performance to get somebody to do the job they are being paid to do. If the doctor will not do their work, escalte it at a higher level. S/he whould be written up for this slackness.

I absolutely agree with you in theory. But why waste hours, maybe days, waiting for the MD to order what you already know the patient needs.

Sometimes I even go a step further. Doctor X can't stand me, so I ask "Buffy RN" to ask the MD for what I think the patient needs. Only she just bats her baby blues. A different form of theater, but theater nonetheless.