Doctor's attitudes

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MomaNurse

109 Posts

Maybe you could run your SBAR by a colleague before you call so you have confidence to stand your ground with the docs with this reaction. I agree that this should be reported up the chain. It's unprofessional, neglectful and abusive at best. Management needs to give them a refresher on communication.

Specializes in Hospice.

Sometimes the doctor yells whether you are prepared or not. One night around 0200 my patient was having a lot of pain. He had had a CABG 8 days prior and was slow to progress. The surgeon who was the only MD on the case had discontinued all pain meds except for Tylenol and Darvocet (This was a few years ago). Anyway, I called the doctor and explained that Mr. X was reporting incisional pain 10/10 and the Darvocet was not relieving the pain. The doctor yelled at me about calling a surgeon in the middle of the night for pain medication. I informed him that he was the only physician on the case and asked if he wanted the patients family doctor consulted. He did not want a consult, and yelled at me, "DON'T ASK HIM IF HE IS HAVING PAIN!" To which I replied, "I am sorry sir for bothering you, however, I am only trying to take care of YOUR patient to the best of my ability. Would you like me to write an order not to ask patient if he is having pain?" I got the guy an order for IV Morphine. :)

Sometimes being passive aggressive is wonderful.

MECO28, BSN, RN

216 Posts

Specializes in Float Pool-Med-Surg, Telemetry, IMCU.

Cardiacfreak, I've totally done that. I got yelled at for calling the provider about a crazy elevated blood pressure and during his tirade he said "put a note in the chart that says not to call me about this". I calmly replied: "would you repeat that one more time so I can enter in a verbal order for that?". He paused, cleared his throat and said "um, ok, maybe I'll give a dose of hydralazine..." :yes:

BlackMurse1

61 Posts

Specializes in Adult Critical Care, Med-Surg, Obs.

Its and art form that all RN's become better at with practice,keep it short sweet and to the point. Follow your call HO parameters and SBAR

allnurses Guide

BostonFNP, APRN

2 Articles; 5,581 Posts

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I agree that being rude is never acceptable.

I can say from the other side of the line is that I do my best to talk to all the nurses on rounds in the morning and get all the orders that are needed in early but I still get 6-12 calls during the

day on a bad day. For each one of these calls I have to get pulled out of a patients room to take the call which sets me behind. I often want a short and sweet presentation. I can ask the questions I need to. I don't need the 5 minute SBAR, I just saw the patient a few hours ago.

Maybe these providers would do better with a shorter more succinct presentation.

Or maybe they are just jerks.

allnurses Guide

Hygiene Queen

2,232 Posts

I often want a short and sweet presentation. I can ask the questions I need to. I don't need the 5 minute SBAR, I just saw the patient a few hours ago.

Maybe these providers would do better with a shorter more succinct presentation.

I know the doctors I work with don't want to sit through a long-winded SBAR.

I open up the chart, jot myself notes and try to present what I see as pertinent as succinctly as possible... and sometimes they don't even what that much.

That's fine with me as long as they aren't cutting me off before I had a chance to address everything I need to address...

Because then they will just have me calling them right back again.

Most of our doctors are great.

Though the other day a doctor called and I had a hand full of meds I had to secure before I could reach the phone (I won't put meds in my pockets anymore... learned that the hard way:facepalm:).

The doctor probably had to wait, oh I don't know, 30 seconds.

I pick up the phone and I hear a heavy sigh and the doctor talking under his breath, "Oh, hurry up! Hurry up! I'm busy! Hygiene, Hygiene, get on the **** phone ...".

I just let him go on for a few more seconds and I said, "Doctor, I'm right here listening."

Yeah, letting him go on and on provided me with a bit of comedy, otherwise my other choice was to be offended and that's not near as much fun.

This doctor was stressed, he apologized and we moved the heck on.

If you really think they are out of line, you can report it just like you can with any other person with whom you may work...

Though what good that will do ya may depend on who the doctor is, what the workplace culture is and just how legit your complaint actually is.

SaoirseRN

650 Posts

I agree that being rude is never acceptable. I can say from the other side of the line is that I do my best to talk to all the nurses on rounds in the morning and get all the orders that are needed in early but I still get 6-12 calls during the day on a bad day. For each one of these calls I have to get pulled out of a patients room to take the call which sets me behind. I often want a short and sweet presentation. I can ask the questions I need to. I don't need the 5 minute SBAR I just saw the patient a few hours ago. Maybe these providers would do better with a shorter more succinct presentation. Or maybe they are just jerks.[/quote']

Unless it's very urgent, I always say, "I need to speak to Dr. X about patient Y, but if she's with a patient I don't need her interrupted. She can call me back when she's able."

Guttercat, ASN, RN

1,353 Posts

The whole SBAR thing is a guideline, but I agree with the above posts that say it can be overkill.

My best advice is to make sure you've done everything you can do within your scope of practice to solve the issue beforehand. That way, they know you have done everything in your power to avoid having to bother them.

Keep it short and sweet, and be polite. I usually try to say please and thank you, and I also apologize for having to call, especially after-hours. Docs are human, too.

I've spent a LOT of time on-call, and after the umpteenth phone call (especially at 1 AM, when you've just laid your head on the pillow after 14 straight hours-- you can get a little cranky.)

The_Optimist

1 Article; 176 Posts

There's never any excuse to be rude (except it was intentional) but it is always best practice to give ONLY pertinent information on a case. Depending on the person's mood at the time, it can get to be very irritating when it's long-winded. Get to the Point! It's almost like waiting for the punch line to a joke that either never comes or takes forever to get there.

Be polite, state your case and suggest or ask for what you want. Most doctors would oblige otherwise if it is a history with them, seek alternative solution.

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