Do doctors have any idea what we nurses do? lol

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As a pregnant nurse, the 12 hour shift is taking its toll on my body. My doctor looked at me with a straight face and said "can't you just put your feet up for 30 minutes every 3 hours or so?" Um, you have been to the hospital before right? I barely have time to pee never mind having a leisurely sit with my feet up every few hours. Kind of makes me wonder what they THINK we do at work. Just got a good laugh out of that, though you all might enjoy it as well!

That's so familiar. We have a doc who hates all anti-emetics except Zofran. When it didn't work, I called for further orders and was given an order for Anzemet. uhhhhmmmmmm......So when that didn't work, I stopped our on-call anesthesiologist and asked him for another order. He said something to the effect of why did you give Anzemet when Zofran didn't work, they are the same drug. I wanted to say, "Well, I'll be darned, when I was giving meds without an order, I just liked the pretty lids on these two!" What I said to him was, "Tell that to your peer, because he doesn't seem to know that."

I think many doctors DO know what we do...and that's why they're doctors. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a doctor asks me why another doctor ordered a particular medication. Um, aren't you a doctor? I'm never sure if it's because he actually thinks I know exactly why a particular medication was ordered or if he (and yes, it's always a male doctor) simply wants to tell me why it was ordered in an attempt to appear superior. I JUST experienced this last night when asked why a patient was ordered (by the orthopedic surgeon) IV vitamin K. I stated that the patient's INR was 2.2 and, on our orthopedics unit, that is why it was ordered. Instead of accepting my response, he rambled on and on and I ultimately told him to "ask [his] MD friend." Ugh.
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Specializes in ER trauma, ICU - trauma, neuro surgical.

I don't expect docs to know exactly what I do. I have no idea what they do. I may hear bugging or complaining, but I'm not seeing 70 different pts in the hospital, or have nurses page me every 5 minutes to ask some stupid question, or spend my time working 80 hrs a week. I think it has more to do with appreciation and I think most of them do appreciate nurses. If they know you are competent and dependable, there's actually a really good working relationship.

I've seen nurses hate this doctor and this doctor, but as soon that nurse's mother is in the hospital and they get to see the doctor actually take care of a loved one, that opinion changes real quick. Or, you have been to the hospital and to get see the other side of what doctors do. Granted, there are docs who are just mean with no bed side manner, but there are just as many mean, nasty, incompetent nurses that talk behind people's back and spread rumors. The hospital is a high stress environment and some people aren't good at coping with that. But, I think most doctors appreciate nurses and know we are part of the team. That's good enough for me. I don't need a doc to know how long it takes to set up a ICP monitor or how long I have to sit in MRI for. I'd rather just crack a joke if there's tension in the air.

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Im a nursing student and told this one doctor I was seeing that I'll be done in a year, and later she goes ''do you know how to take a blood pressure?"

:no:

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I was in a hospital when a nurses' strike came on at 0700 in the first week in July. A friend coming off night shift said she passed a room and saw two house staff, gowned and gloved, next to a bed. "I'll hold him over and you wash him," said one. "No, I'LL hold him over and YOU wash him," said the other. She laughed all the way out the door.

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I thought we sat around and read magazines all day. Isn't this what we do?

Sent from my iPhone using allnurses.com

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Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

Many, many years ago - and far away from where I am now, the head of pediatrics decided that BEFORE the new residents touched a NICU patient - they would go through an orientation day WITH A NURSE. Then they started their rotation. It. Was. Wonderful.

I thought it was a great idea then, and think it's a great idea now.

At another hospital, one of the GI docs (attending) came out of a patient room with a bundle of dirty linen. He found the patient in a soiled bed when he made rounds and took it upon himself to clean the gentleman up AND change the soiled linens. That guy is my hero.

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Sooooo glad I had a CNM when I was pregnant. I told her I was think of taking a LOA while I was pregnant (I'd ended up in the ED with dehydration on a couple occasions after some very long crazy shifts), and she said, "Yes, dear god, if you can handle it financially, you stay home. If you can't, go on call."

Unfortunately those with higher risk pregnancies don't have the luxury of having a fellow nurse provide their care. I like the idea of requiring residents to orient with the nursing staff before starting their rotation, as mentioned above. I think it would make the working world a little better for all of us.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, LTACH, LTC, Home Health.

I don't THINK they know and I don't BELIEVE they care.

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Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I don't think most physicians understand the nursing workflow, just like most nurses don't understand the physician workflow.

I do think most physicians appreciate the patient-asssessment and triage capabilities of nurses.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.

I'll speak up for our ED docs.

They've got a pretty good sense of what our lives are like and are generally and genuinely respectful and helpful.

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I think many doctors DO know what we do...and that's why they're doctors. One of my biggest pet peeves is when a doctor asks me why another doctor ordered a particular medication. Um, aren't you a doctor? I'm never sure if it's because he actually thinks I know exactly why a particular medication was ordered or if he (and yes, it's always a male doctor) simply wants to tell me why it was ordered in an attempt to appear superior. I JUST experienced this last night when asked why a patient was ordered (by the orthopedic surgeon) IV vitamin K. I stated that the patient's INR was 2.2 and, on our orthopedics unit, that is why it was ordered. Instead of accepting my response, he rambled on and on and I ultimately told him to "ask [his] MD friend." Ugh.

To the first bolded, maybe him asking these kinds of questions is his way of making you feel included...

I see so many posts from nurses who complain that the physicians don't take them seriously or couldn't care less about what they say. Maybe your hospital phyicians do care. Just a thought.

For the second bolded, I'm curious what he rambled on and on about...was he explaining his concern over the order? If so he may have felt it was a learning experience for you, and thought you were worth the time to educate.

Of course he could just be bitter, I have no idea. But then again, maybe he isn't.

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Specializes in being a Credible Source.
maybe him asking these kinds of questions is his way of making you feel included...
I sometimes get docs from the floors asking why our docs did what they did and I generally take it as recognition that our docs often include us in their thinking about *why* they're ordering as they do and not just *what* they're ordering. Sometimes I can answer and sometimes I have to point them in the direction of the ordering provider.

Either way, it's nice to be included as part of the team and it's helpful to be able to educate the patients and families.

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