Do you feel that the doctors you practice with respect you and your profession?

Becky RN · Apr 7, 2000

I've been a nurse 22 years and I've worked with literally hundreds of doctors. And for every doctor there is there is a different attitude toward nurses. In my experiences it may be a doctor has a problem with a certain nurse, he/she just doesn,t care for them personally or the way the nurse operates. In some of the hospitals I've worked it was a certain floor or department the doctors didn't like or respect because of the supervisor or the reputation of the particular area. So many factors go into an attitude. You cannot clump all the doctors in one good or bad catagory nor the nurses. Sometimes you have to earn a doctor's confidence then the two can work adiquately together. Doctors also have to earn our confidence (we can be a fickle bunch sometimes) But through it all I've tried to keep the patients interests first and foremost, and sometimes that means swallowing your pride and sometimes it means formally reporting a doctor for his/her incompetency, etc. 95% of the time if you know what you are doing, and are confidant, kind, and respectful, you will have very little trouble from a physician unless they just are a total jirk (and I have met a few). Thanks, BeckyRN

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Becky RN

Nancy1 · Apr 8, 2000

SSUleader,

I read your posting about docs being on call and not returning calls. In our facility if we don't get a return call and we feel it is emergent, we call our medical director and cover ourselves that way. We have a great medical director.

I hope this will help.NA

Frustrated in PA · Apr 8, 2000

I work in a CCU in a small rural hospital. Some of the physicians greatly respect us (such as the internists) but many of the family practitioners and surgeons do not. I worked on the med-surg floor prior to transferring to CCU, and I would have to say that the med-surg nurses get even less respect from the physicians.

mcrow · Apr 11, 2000

I would have to say that most of the pediatricians we work with do respect us all, but they seem to have more respect for the one RN than the three LPNs in our outpatient clinic. The RN is always the first one called to assist them with procedures, to cath a patient, etc. I don't know if they forget we are also just as capable or if it is just because she has been part of the clinic like forever. Most are very critical of the nurses working in inpatient, even though they are an easy going bunch.

emhkirkpatrick · Apr 14, 2000

I agree with Becky--I have been a nurse for 23 years mostly in critical care areas--there are some wonderful doctors and some real stinkers out there.

But I have been blessed by working with some of the best. The medical director of one unit I worked in told every resident going through our service the first time "Trust these nurses--They are experienced, knowledgeable and are with the patient 24 hours a day we only are here for short period of time each day." How can you not love a doctor like that? Matter of fact he told one resident one time that most of us could and did function like interns in most settings because of the actuity of our patients and the standing protocols that left us with a lot of autonomy in patient care decisions.

And the biggest baddest doctors in most hospitals at that one were ***** cats-The open heart surgeons. They always listened to our opinions and though they did not always agree with us frequently they would say "You know you might be right and that sounds like a good idea let's try it." I have worked with some physicians who do not respect nurses no matter how often the nurses have saved their a**. But on the whole

I have found that those doctors frequently have no respect for their own colleagues or any one else. But respect must be earned and that is the biggest problem nurses have. If the doctor keeps getting stupid phone calls at 2 am from you he is apt not to listen to you when you really have a problem at 2 am. One way to combat this whole situation is to study and question and learn your job. I have found over the years that when I have questioned doctors about a particular therapy and the reasons they are using it three things happen: first I learn something new to apply to my practice; second I learn something that I can help to instruct other nurses and the patients and his family; and third and most important I earn that doctor's respect because I have asked intelligent questions about his patient's care--He or she knows that I am interseted in his patient and interested in learning. Actually in several years of

nursing I have found that I frequently am instructing even attendings in new modalties of treatment for things that are not in their specialty. That also earns you respect.

dfarias · Apr 18, 2000

Hi. I have 26 years of nursing under my belt and I agree that the more knowlegable and skilled I beome in a particlar specialty area I work in the more respect I've earned. I've been in Oncology now for over 10 years and the thing I've found the most disappointing is that the Doc I work with now just won't deal with a diagnosis or therapy related issue despite repeated pleas. I find the answer is always "send the patient to the primary doc." These are active treatment patients mind you. I find it very offensive to have to beg and plead with doc to et them to see their own patients. This to me is a great sign of disrespect.

MissySue · Apr 19, 2000

Physicians respect nurses who demand respect and know what they are doing clinically. How can a physician deny a nurse if she is acting on the best interest of the patient? Even the most unruly of physicians can be tamed by a nurse who is not intimidated by his bellowing and unprofessional behavior. By standing up to these physicians nurses can and do get the respect they desire. I don't think that physicians need to be abusive to nurses (and at times physicians are abusive) but this is a fact that is not going to go away tomorrow.

goldilocksrn · Apr 27, 2000

I personally feel that I get a lot of respect from the doctors I work with. It all starts with knowing what you are doing and standing behind what you believe in. The doctors will start to trust in you and you will have more of a partnership with them.

Trauma Columnist · Apr 27, 2000

I work in a large level one trauma center in a teaching facility. I have worked other places in the U.S. and overseas and I feel our docs are for the most part very respectful of us. As a unit, the RNs have a great reputation for assessment, tx and ability to get the job done. I'm proud to say I work here. (I haven't felt that way everywhere I've worked.) There's always one or two who could use some diplomcy skills but overall, the docs treat us very with a great deal of respect. Now, if we could only get a raise... judi